


The King of Tartarus: θανατική ποινή

by juuten



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst and Humor, Barebacking, Blood and Violence, Explicit Sexual Content, Gore, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Inspired by Dante's Inferno, Inspired by Greek Mythology, M/M, Multiple Orgasms, No one in SVT dies though, Religious Themes, Torture, implied Hair Pulling Kink, implied choking kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-14 17:02:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18952288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juuten/pseuds/juuten
Summary: A fallen angel and a half-blooded demon sharing the same power and the same privilege, over the great throne of Tartarus, is a catastrophe waiting to happen. Unless they find common ground in…ardent amalgamation.But just because he had once mentioned in passing that Hoshi was the most beautiful spawn of hell he’d ever seen, didn’t give Heechul the right to toy with them like this.Hoshi doesn’t even like him.How are they supposed to live in unholy matrimony when they couldn’t even stand being next to each other for more than five minutes?





	The King of Tartarus: θανατική ποινή

**Author's Note:**

  * For [freakishsh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/freakishsh/gifts).



> Based on this 3-sentence ficlet. “Two kings ruled over the damned souls in hell. Mingyu and Hoshi found delight in the eternal torture of their captives. But even though they were abominable and cruel, there was only quiet affection for one another in their fervid gazes and rotting hearts.”
> 
> Thank you so much to @freakishsh for giving me this prompt! <3 You pretty much made this entire fic happen :) I couldn't have ever thought of this by myself. Thank you, thank you, thank you for always giving my work support! This is for you and the SoonGyu nation! 
> 
> Warnings: Very dark fic. Inspired by Dante’s Inferno, Greek Mythology, and @freakishsh prompt for me on twitter. Implied Rape/Sodomy. Implied Murder. Implied Live Animal Eating. There will be some humor here, but this story is still not for squeamish people. Read at your own risk.

 

 

**οι μεγαλύτεροι ήρωες δεν έχουν ευτυχισμένες απολήξεις**

 

 

When a mortal dies and his life has ended…the messenger comes and delivers the dead. 

 

The angels sit atop the clouds, soft wings fluttering behind their backs, and point downwards past the sublunary orbit. They do not smile or speak consoling words. Instead, their eyes impart a quiet ukase.

 

_The human belongs to the devil now._

 

So the heavenly messenger and corporal soul journey beyond the river of Oceanus, past slivers of earth and telluric matter, and descend upon the underworld of forboding grey and infinite gloom. 

 

There are no vivid or warm colors to welcome them to the Kingdom of the Dead. It is only a haven for the odious - cold, shadowy, and lifeless.

 

The navy-haired emissary, Seungkwan, is not fond of this realm, but he is their god’s chosen psychopomp. He does not judge. He does not beseech. He only guides the poor soul to the ferryman who stands on the edge of Acheron. The river is blacker than tar and midnight, bottomless and foul with the sorrow of hell’s eternal dwellers. 

 

The messenger feels grief for this new prisoner but holds his tongue because his sentence is just. 

 

Heaven does not want this sullied soul. God has made that clear enough.

 

When the mortal was still breathing on earth, he had done too many wicked things. Rape, murder, larceny, and so much more. Now, he must pay for what he has done. Eternal condemnation past the Phlegethon awaits him, where there is nothing but suffering and fire in the belly of the beast. 

 

The bony ferryman, Seokmin, holds out his hand, and Seungkwan urges the soul to relinquish the coin under his tongue for safe passage. His payment guarantees that the ferryman will not abandon him on the planes of mare, where ghosts and restless souls roam with no purpose and no end. 

 

Tokens to Charon - a mores for the living and dead.

 

Seokmin takes the obolus, his shiny prize, and swallows it. Only then does he allow the former mortal to enter his boat. 

 

“Where am I going?” the dark soul asks Seungkwan.

 

But the messenger does not answer. He does not have the gall to lie. 

 

“You will know soon enough,” Seokmin says, face stern and voice callous. The ferryman feels no ounce of pity for any soul he carries across the infernal rivers. 

 

Before they depart, Seungkwan relays one final message to his longtime friend, “Let Mingyu know he can come home now. His father has forgiven him.”

 

“He has been here for too long. Olympus is not his home anymore,” Seokmin answers, before pulling a dark hood over his head. Skeletal hands grab for the long oar, and he begins rowing the damned soul to his new abode in the afterlife.

 

 

* * *

 

 

There is no name for him in the darkest part of the underworld. Here, he is like everyone else. He is meant to suffer as much as every other heinous soul for the rest of eternity.

 

They are prisoners with no hope of escape, even past the iron gates and bronze threshold where Cerberus and the Hydra stand guard. They are vassals confined in the hell of all hells, and there is only a never-ending tomorrow of hardship to anticipate. 

 

This is Tartarus, home of the vilest sinners and the worst transgressors.

 

In this godforsaken place, he knows nothing of comfort. The imprisoned soul cannot sit or stand. He can only fit in his rusty, metal-barred cage by squatting with his back bowed over. The guards do not let him sleep or eat. Even when they’re not torturing him, the prisoner is not allowed any rest.

 

Death brings no relief. There is only unrelenting agony in their daily lives of abuse and torture. They are only there to serve as entertainment, for the sick pleasure of the monstrous demons residing within the deep inferno.

 

Their sadistic tormenters are the only ones honored with names, so that all the souls will know who exactly it was that continuously inflicted pain upon them.

 

Jeonghan, beautiful with his silver hair, does not dirty his hands with the blood of his victims. He uses hooks and blades of every kind, to slice through flesh and impale every organ. He does all this with an enchanting smile on his face, as if what he’s doing is nothing close to despicable.

 

Wonwoo, who wields the power of ice - unusual enough in this pit of fire, holds a gaze as cold as frost. He never says a word to his captives, instead choosing to freeze their limbs and crush them with the stomp of his foot. On more boring days, he would simply blow into existence a glacial storm and mirthfully watch as his prisoners become icicles in their cages.

 

Jun is, without a doubt, the most deranged of them all. He laughs and laughs as he gouges out eyes and rips off body parts for the other thralls to devour. They are forced to eat until they vomit, and then they must eat whatever they have purged. Sometimes, he makes the lost souls hurt each other for his own twisted amusement. He likes using fire too, and Tartarus has an ample supply of it. He exploits it until the smell of burning flesh is thick in the air and ash falls to the ground. The worst perpetrators are always given to Jun, because there is no amount of gore he cannot stomach and no revolting punishment he will not deliver.

 

Seungcheol, the leader of their demonic squadron, does not like to look. He is the only one who does not seem to enjoy the sight of anguish and perishing souls. The white-haired demon simply conveys their master’s commands to his ungodly contemporaries and ushers a select few into the red chambers, where special punishments are carried out by the king himself. All the while he is squeamish of the harrowed cries surrounding him, but much like the other demons in this house of horrors, he does not feel any mercy for their prisoners. He quietly turns away at the sight of bloodshed and never indulges those pleading at his feet.

 

The innominate soul tries not to think of their faces and their names as he waits in his cramped cell.

 

He gnaws at his own hands in an attempt to ease the pangs of hunger in his stomach. His mind floats between hallucinations and the reality of where he is now, stitching together nightmarish images that never dissipate. 

 

Shrill cries echo through the burning halls. Sometimes, he no longer knows whether they come from his own mouth or from the other oppressed souls. They all sound the same. They all come from the same repeated afflictions - physically and mentally beset until they can take no more, then regenerated before the suffering continues, again and again in an endless cycle. 

 

The damned soul has accepted his fate. 

 

He waits and waits until it is time for more pain…until it’s time to come face to face with the devil himself. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

The king sits on a throne of skulls. His high seat towers above everything in this blazing room. 

 

There are pools of tar that run across both sides of the walkway, where souls are drowning and choking on the thick, black liquid. Bodies are bound on the walls around them, burned and sodomized in a sick depiction of art on display. 

 

 _Help me, help me_ , they all cry.

 

Jun drags the soul into the room with a chain around his neck. His naked prisoner crawls on the floor like an animal, bleeding from the broken skin of his palms and knees. He groans in pain through the gag in his mouth, tears spilling down his bruised face. 

 

The tortured soul looks up at the Master of Tartarus, and the handsome man, dressed in sable leather, peers back at him in apathy. 

 

“Ah, it’s _you_.” The king’s voice sounds as sweet as an angel. It’s the most beautiful thing he’s heard in so long. 

 

“It’s his tenth year with us,” Seungcheol speaks behind Jun. 

 

The master raises a brow, as if what Seungcheol had said is supposed to concern him. “What did he do?” 

 

“What did he _not_ do…that’s what you should be asking,” Jun scoffs and spits at the chained thrall. 

 

“Mostly to young women,” Seungcheol confers softly, almost hesitant. “…and children.” 

 

Suddenly, the king is before him. He is tall and muscular and even more handsome up close. His eyes are golden, smoldering with anger behind dark brown bangs. He presses a boot over the soul’s head and shoves his bloodied face into the floor. “I hate humans like you the most.”

 

“Shall I do to him what he did to the young ones?” Jun asks eagerly, eyes wide and shining.

 

“No,” the master says, crushing the prisoner’s skull beneath his foot. The nameless soul is screaming through the gag now, eyes ready to burst out of his sockets. “We need to do something special for him. It _is_ his tenth anniversary with us after all.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“ _Mingyu_.”

 

He winces when he hears Hoshi’s harsh call, quickly draping himself with a black robe and tying it securely around his waist. 

 

The demon angrily enters his room without the courtesy of knocking, and Mingyu is just thankful that Hoshi had not seen his uncovered form.

 

“Did you fucking tell Jun and Seungcheol to throw _my prisoner_ into the Phlegethon?!” 

 

Mingyu glares at his co-ruler. “You mean _our prisoner_ ,” he hisses back. “This is _our domain. We_ rule this hell together if you care to remember.”

 

The shorter, red-haired man glowers at his companion, fangs bared. “You carried out a sentence while I was gone!”

 

“Yes, I did, because I don’t abandon my duties to go frolicking around with some lyre-playing dwarf!” Mingyu argues back.

 

Hoshi growls and stomps toward the taller male. “You don’t fucking know anything about me and Woozi!”

 

He knows he’s hit a sore spot at the mention of Woozi, but Mingyu is just as resentful as Hoshi is right now. He hates how Hoshi travels so frequently to Taenarum just to hear the small god’s songs. It’s not fair that he gets to leisurely waste his time in the mortal world, while his responsibilities pile up on Mingyu’s shoulders. 

 

It’s definitely not jealousy. Not at all.

 

They are _both_ Kings of Tartarus. They are _both_ masters with obligations to their shared throne, and so their presence within this hell-house is paramount during the laboring hours. 

 

But it’s impossibly difficult for them to get along, because there is nothing that binds them together in harmony.

 

The underworld has never had two rulers before - two scions of sin and greed, two entities of dark power, two wretched creatures birthed from wickedness. So similar, and yet so disparate.  

 

Tartarus has never had a fallen angel and a half-blooded demon as its kings. 

 

But somehow, the former king of Hell had thought it best to crown both of them as his successors when he stepped down from his throne. Nowadays, Heechul spends his time on Mount Olympus with his brother Leeteuk - the Lightning King of the Gods himself. He does visit occasionally to see how his past domain is doing, and he grows exceedingly happier every time he returns. 

 

Tartarus is flourishing under two kings, Heechul seems to think. 

 

Mingyu and Hoshi would beg to differ. They are much too different to find an equilibrium or even just a solid foundation for agreement. Every dispute pushes them closer to the edge of violence, and it’s only a matter of time before one of them rips the other’s head off. 

 

The fallen angel is more than fair with his decrees. He orders punishments that suit the crimes committed, perfectly balancing the scales between what was done and what is deserved. He is not a terribly evil being, but he has done things that have brought shame to his father in heaven. He had once been in the same position as the damned souls of this hell, but his punishment had reached its end long ago. Still, he chooses not to return home, because centuries in this ill realm has hardened his heart and turned him dirty. He is sick and impure and no longer kind. He wants to see others suffer for their crimes just as he had. He can no longer be an angel of god, not after what he’s been through.

 

Hoshi, on the other hand, possesses a cruelty like no other. He is a juxtapose, born from a demon father and a human mother. He was not made from love, but rather, he had been the product of a lustful and accidental encounter. Hoshi does not pride himself with his human side. Thus, he punishes more ruthlessly and excessively than necessary, to show that he’s just as horrible and fearsome as any other pure-blooded demon. He doesn’t care about how small or large the sin committed. He only cares for the bloodshed and barbarity, to be inflicted ten to a thousand-fold. 

 

They bicker almost constantly about anything and everything that involves their governance, and when they are not arguing, the two kings avoid each other as much as possible. 

 

Still, Heechul thinks Tartarus is thriving under their care.

 

The fallen angel finds out much later that they had been specifically ordained together as a sort of ill-conceived, matchmaking scheme by the former King of Hell. 

 

Heechul wishes for them to enter a binding and become the underworld’s adamantine symbol of unity and power, without the hindrance seasonal complications and familial drama (whether Hoshi is aware of this, Mingyu is yet to find out). 

 

It makes Mingyu think that this was all just a joke to begin with. A fallen angel and a half-blooded demon sharing the same power and the same privilege, over the great throne of Tartarus, is a catastrophe waiting to happen. Unless they find common ground in…ardent amalgamation. 

 

But just because he had once mentioned in passing that Hoshi was the most beautiful spawn of hell he’d ever seen, didn’t give Heechul the right to toy with them like this. 

 

The half-blooded demon doesn’t even like him.

 

How are they supposed to live in unholy matrimony when they couldn’t even stand being next to each other for more than five minutes?

 

In addition to that, Hoshi is more than capable of having whoever he wants, and he currently seems to be obsessed with the imp of songs called Woozi.

 

“It doesn’t take much to know that you’re screwing him,” Mingyu jeers. His blood is boiling, and he knows he needs to stop, but he can’t help it. “Or maybe he’s the one screwing you, because the mortal blood in your veins can’t make you last long enough to pleasure him.”

 

“Why the fuck would you care?!” Hoshi yells, fists clenched tight. “Are you jealous, Mingyu? Does it upset you that I might actually be having sex while your dick rots away? Because no one here wants to fuck a five-million-year-old virgin angel?!”

 

Hoshi is right. No one in hell wants an angel. No one in their right mind would ever pursue a blessed winged-creature. The only exception is Jeonghan and his strange infatuation with the Archangel Joshua. But that’s a rarity, and Jeonghan is a psychopath. 

 

“No one here will ever want you! Even your own god does not want you in his kingdom!” Hoshi gibes, and his jarring words strike the last chord.

 

Mingyu swiftly wraps a hand around Hoshi’s throat and squeezes. He does this only in warning, his grip isn’t even that tight, but the action still takes the demon by surprise.

 

“You’re right,” he admits through gritted teeth. The demon is startled into silence. He doesn’t even fight back to liberate himself from Mingyu’s choking hold. His hands only close around the angel’s wrist. The angel expects blue fire to emerge, but none comes. “You are absolutely right. But you are wrong about one thing.”

 

He looks into Hoshi’s dark orbs, staring into them with an inscrutable emotion. “I’m not God’s angel anymore…I can do anything I want to now. Kill anyone I want to. _Fuck_ anyone I want to…”

 

The demon shivers from the intensity of his gaze and the deepness in his voice, and not another sound leaves Hoshi’s parted, reddened lips. His breathing is faint, his pupils are blown wide, and he looks so damn palatable like this.

 

Mingyu knows he can hurt the demon right now if he wanted to. He is strong and mighty and old enough to do so. Heechul had chosen him as one of his successors for a reason, and it was definitely not because he was just some pretty angel.

 

But he knows he won’t ever win against Hoshi.

 

He can’t.

 

Never will.

 

It’s already a lost battle for him. He wouldn’t even dare to fight back if Hoshi ever wanted to kill him.

 

Not when he feels _this_ way.

 

So instead, he throws the smaller king on the bed and makes his way out his own bedroom without turning back.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Mingyu has one confidant in the mortal world. His name is Vernon, and he resides in a small hut near the volcanic Lake Avernus. He only visits the human during the night, when he’s high off some medicinal plant. The timing is usually perfect, because Hoshi never looks for him after their quarrels, and Vernon has a nightly ritual of smoking before going to sleep. 

 

Vernon is a kind person Mingyu enjoys talking to. He wouldn’t have minded being Vernon’s guardian angel, if he had not fallen out of God’s favor. 

 

Thanks to the hallucinogenic herbage, the human thinks Mingyu is just a figment of his imagination, so the fallen angel does not hesitate to tell Vernon everything. The human isn’t capable of blabbering anyway, at least not while he’s alive. So Mingyu is quite appreciative of this earthly foliage. Hopefully, this time around, the mortals don’t (literally) fuck the verdure flora out of existence as they did with the contraceptive plant, Silphium. 

 

“So you’re hopelessly in love with hiiiiim. I got it…I got iiiiit…” Vernon says through a knowing grin and squinting, red scleras. His brows dance suggestively on his forehead, and Mingyu wonders if this is an effect of the seven-leafed herb. 

 

“I wouldn’t say that,” Mingyu asserts, gazing up at the stars from where he and Vernon laid in a field of lavender. “I think I’ve just developed more…favorable feelings for him.”

 

“Riiiiight,” Vernon drawls, visibly dubious. “But you want him to…be yours, right?”

 

Insightful as usual, especially when he’s inebriated.

 

“That’s too intimate of a step…” Mingyu feels his cheeks glow with pink. The concept of love is not foreign to him at all. He’s seen it happen in the lives of both the divine and mortal. He’s never personally felt it before though, because arduous feelings, for some reason, don’t come to angels as easily. 

 

“But if it must come down to that…I wouldn’t oppose of it,” the fallen angel discloses shyly. 

 

Despite their contrasting natures, he had always found the half-blooded demon attractive. Perhaps it was his human side that had drawn Mingyu in, or maybe it was his demonic temperament that kept enticing him into a state of offbeat adoration. 

 

Hoshi is exceptionally evil to their prisoners, but he is also immensely caring and constantly dotes on his demon friends. Maybe it’s both those aspects of his personality that captivates and keeps reeling Mingyu in. 

 

“An angel and a demon, huh?” Vernon chuckles, finding such a union humorous enough, and Mingyu doesn’t feel offended, because it is indeed a ridiculous pairing. “You wanna…you wanna know what _I_ think?”

 

Mingyu peeks at his friend, taking note of his slurring speech. The mortal is going to pass out soon. “Indulge me, human, before you slumber.”

 

“I think you should court him. Flowers, gems, sweets - you name it. Change his mind about you. Show him you’d be a much better lover than that miniature songwriter he likes to visit,” he says before releasing a prolonged yawn. “And if all else fails, give him a good dicking. That usually works for us lower beings.”

 

The fallen angel makes a repulsed expression. Why are the divine and the mortal always so sexually preoccupied? Does there not exist a more joyous activity besides procreation and the jostling of sex organs?

 

Eventually, Mingyu will have to find out for himself what the fuss is all about, but now was not the time. 

 

The mortal curls into himself on the flowery field, eyes shutting, and Mingyu carries Vernon back to his small hut. He tucks the human away in his tattered quilts and silently thanks Vernon for listening to his endless ranting. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

“What the fuck is this disturbing creature?!” 

 

Hoshi pulls out a dagger and prods at the bouquet of bloody red flowers on his bed with extreme caution.

 

Wonwoo rolls his eyes. “They’re roses, Hoshi. I’m not even human, and I know what they are.”

 

The half-blooded demon grumbles and sheaths his blade. “Well these _roses_ have disrespected me by sneaking into my chambers! We must burn them before their loved ones so this does not happen again!”

 

“Would you shut up?” Wonwoo grabs the entire bundle and shoves it into Hoshi’s arms. “Roses are flowers! They can’t crawl around by themselves. Obviously, someone placed them there.”

 

Hoshi’s eyes narrow at the overlapping petals in his hands. Of course. It all makes sense now. His sharp mind immediately catches on, and the horrifying realization makes his stomach churn. “Are you saying…that someone in this place is trying to murder me?!”

 

Wonwoo blinks at him, pausing to take in what his friend had just said, before sighing. “You don’t even know what flowers are, do you?”

 

“Of course I know what they are! Father says my mother tried to kill me in the womb with flowers.”

 

“Those were probably peacock flowers. _Not_ roses.”

 

“Same difference.” Hoshi ignites the bundle in his hands with his fiery powers. Flames consume the petals in bright and burning blue, but deep vermilion emerges instead of char and ash when the fire dies out. The roses remain fresh and blooming in their prime, perfuming his entire bedroom with a calming, floral scent. 

 

“What the fuck?!!!” he cries out, staring in disbelief at the living roses nestled in his arms. 

 

“Witchcraft. Whoever got you these probably knew you would burn them,” Wonwoo comments. He takes the bouquet from his master to study them closely. “Oh, would you look at that? They’re fireproof _and_ eternal.”

 

“I…I don’t understand,” Hoshi mutters, distraught and confused. 

 

“And somehow, I really do believe that.” Wonwoo locates a pitcher to hold the roses and places it on top of the king’s bedside table. He knows about their master’s rough childhood, so he can’t blame the redhead for being so clueless and needlessly defensive. “Look, no one’s trying to kill you, okay? Trust me.”

 

Hoshi crosses his arms over his chest, scrunching his nose. “Then what kind of message are they sending by blatantly leaving evidence of their trespassing?”

 

“I don’t know,” Wonwoo lies. He’s definitely, very much aware of what’s going on. He’s not getting in the middle of this gross breeding ritual, but that doesn’t mean he can’t offer his longtime friend any hints. “Maybe a _certain someone_ is finally being brave enough to show you how they really feel? About you? And maybe, it’s also time for _you_ to finally admit how you really feel about them. But then again, what do I know? I’m just Wonwoo, a lowly demon. Not your _equal_. Perhaps you should talk to _him_ about the roses.”

 

The demon king, however, has already stopped listening a while ago. 

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Hoshi flippantly waves his friend away as he tries burning the flowers again. When none of them set ablaze, he unattractively whines in frustration. “What kind of magic is this? Who’s powerful enough to disrupt my flame? Wonwoo, I need you to find out as soon as possible!”

 

“Leave the roses alone, Hoshi.” He swats at their master’s hands and drags him out the room with his ice-cold grip. “Let’s go before you set the whole room on fire. _Again._ ”

 

“Okay, okay! Don’t freeze my fucking limbs off!” 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Mingyu starts with the flowers, because they were the easiest to find in the realm of mortals. Having Minghao, God of Witchcraft and Necromancy, immortalize them and fireproof them was an added step to the process, but the angel is convinced that the extra work and magic was imperative, just in case Hoshi accidentally set the roses on fire. He doubts that Woozi would ever be able to give the demon a better bouquet.

 

When he returns to the royal chambers and the redheaded king does not spew out curses at the sight of him, Mingyu takes this as a good sign. 

 

Hoshi merely gives him a nod of acknowledgement and ignores him for the rest of the working week, and this is more than enough to encourage Mingyu to bring him more gifts.

 

After all, if Hoshi didn’t like it, he would have said something. The demon has never been one to beat around the bush.

 

So Mingyu goes in search of the next item Vernon had mentioned - gems.

 

There are many gems and precious elements in the heavens and on earth, but he wants to give Hoshi one that is rare and hard to find. 

 

This small quest brings him to Mount Nysa - where the God of Chaos and Protector of Outcasts, Taehyung, and his physically well-endowed lover, Jungkook, reside with the rest of their wine-loving comrades. 

 

Mingyu once had to fight Jungkook when the demigod kidnapped Cerberus from their gates, but Heechul ultimately forgave him for his theft after he brought the three-headed dog back, and the angel and the demigod ended up parting on amicable terms. 

 

He is ready for a displeased, but cordial reception after he enters the couple’s home without any announcement, but what he does not expect is Taehyung on his knees, face buried in between Jungkook’s legs…right in the middle of the parlor room.

 

Mingyu backs away until he hits a wall, speechless in utter shock, and Jungkook…God of Lightning have mercy on his soul, the demigod is completely exposed and totally blissed out with his eyes closed and head thrown back. 

 

And the vulgar sounds erupting from his throat…he’s moaning as if he were receiving some sort of pleasure from this hideous act. Jungkook is clearly trapped in a trance and most likely doesn’t even know that the God of Chaos is devouring his manhood. 

 

He has heard of gods going mad and eating other divine entities, like the Titans had atrociously done before they were imprisoned in the dungeons of Tartarus. But Mingyu never thought he’d actually witness such an act of depravity and lunacy before his very eyes.

 

“Jungkook, wake up! You’re being cannibalized!” Mingyu cries out, before he rushes forward to save the demigod from being consumed. 

 

The two lovers turn to the intruder with surprise on both their faces, and Taehyung screeches in pain when the fallen angel pulls at his blond hair to haul him away from Jungkook.

 

“Mingyu, what are you doing?!” the demigod bemoans, getting up from the chaise lounge sofa to grab hold of the arm twisting at Taehyung’s hair. “Let him go!”

 

“I’m trying to save you from being eaten!” Mingyu asserts fiercely. 

 

“Being eaten- what???” Jungkook is both vexed and bewildered by the accusations being hurled at his lover. “What are you talking about? Why would you even-”

 

Taehyung teleports himself out of Mingyu’s grip and then reappears to deliver a solid uppercut right into the angel’s jaw. 

 

Mingyu stumbles onto the floor from the punch and covers his mouth, tasting blood on his tongue and feeling a bruise start forming where he’d been hit.

 

“You fucking asshole!” Taehyung screams at him, and Jungkook has to hold him close to stop him from hurting Mingyu any further.

 

“Tae, stop! He’s the King of Tartarus,” the demigod says, and his lover stills, scowling at the angel returning to his feet.

 

“Right, the fallen angel who’s still a fucking virgin. My apologies, _your majesty_ ,” Taehyung derides with a roll of his eyes, not sorry at all for hitting the king. “I tend to lose my temper whenever someone barges in on me and Kookie having sex. Maybe next time you should _knock_ before coming into our home!”

 

“That was not an act of lovemaking!” Mingyu contends. “I saw you trying to masticate his phallus!”

 

Taehyung appears indignant and pompously defends himself. “It’s called oral sex, you dumbass! Not like you would know how to suck cock!” 

 

Mingyu is still skeptical of Taehyung’s claim, but the demigod quickly comes in between them before he can continue his dissent.

 

“Tae, please,” Jungkook whines, trying to appease his lover by gently rubbing his arms. “Mingyu is an old acquaintance of mine. He is our ally. Now you know if anything were to happen to me, he would come to my aid without hesitation.”

 

The God of Chaos breathes out a heavy sigh, still frowning but definitely pacified by his lover’s words. 

 

“Fine,” Taehyung mutters, before leering at the fallen angel. “To what do we owe the honor of your presence, _King of the Underworld_?”

 

Mingyu steps forward, towering over both lovers with his astonishing height, and humbly pleads, “I am in need of your tears, Protector of Outcasts.” 

 

“My tears?” The god glances questioningly at Jungkook, who’s pulling on a pair of silken trousers.

 

“And what for?” the dark-haired demigod queries, worry and protectiveness emanating into his words. 

 

The king feels a bit shy with what he is about to explain, the apples of his cheeks tinging with a pinkish hue. “I need them to win over my amorous prospect’s affections.”

 

Taehyung purses his lips with a crossed look on his face. “So you want me to _hurt and cry_ just so you can lose your virginity?”

 

“That is not the point of this conversation!” Mingyu stresses. “I’m trying to do a proper courtship with a demon, and I want to give him a gem far more valuable than any other in this world.” 

 

“Wait, are you fucking kidding me? Courting a demon? Are you talking about Hoshi?” The god’s lips widen into a scandalized grin, and he guffaws right into the angel’s face.

 

Even Jungkook has to stifle his laughter, and Mingyu doesn’t understand what’s so funny about his plight.

 

“Yes, and _what about it_?” 

 

“Oh, shit, you’re an idiot!” Taehyung remarks, slapping Mingyu on the back before doubling over with unsuppressed laughter.

 

“If you won’t be of any help, I will see myself out,” the king grouses, peeved by the couple’s incessant cackling.

 

The fallen angel shuffles for the door in a state of incredulity, but a hand on his shoulder pulls him back into the parlor. 

 

“Here, put your hand out,” Taehyung says, baby blue eyes watering from laughing too much. He tilts his head forward, and a single tear falls into Mingyu’s outstretched palm. The drop immediately solidifies against his tanned skin and transforms into a brilliant amethyst within seconds. 

 

“Tears of joy,” Jungkook expounds, admiring the deep purple jewel with his balmy gaze. “Out of all his tears, they make for the best gemstones.”

 

The amethyst glistens prettily in natural light, and Mingyu is almost startled by the gorgeously rich color and exquisite clarity. “What price must I pay for your generosity?”

 

Taehyung is practically lambent with the way he's smiling so widely. “Not much. Just name your firstborn child after me, and we’ll call it even.”

 

Mingyu awkwardly gawks at the blond deity. “Uhm, Hoshi and I are both male. Neither of us can bear children.”

 

“No big deal. My friend Seokjin, the God of Love and Beauty, was born from his father’s genitals after his brother cut them off and threw them into the ocean!” the blond god imparts, as if none of what he’s saying is preposterous.

 

“It’s true,” Jungkook (not-so) helpfully chimes in. “Seokjin’s birth is well-known throughout the realms.”

 

Taehyung grins maniacally. “That’s right! So all you have to do is cut off your dick an-”

 

“I am _not_ cutting my own genitals off!” Mingyu stops him right then and there, cringing from the absurdity of this entire conversation.

 

“Hmm…yeah, maybe you shouldn’t. Hoshi will probably leave you if you lose your dick. Wait, do angels even have dicks? Is this why you’re so unwilling to castrate yourself? Because you don’t actually have anything to cut off?” Taehyung ponders on this subject for a moment, and Mingyu is very close to kicking him right in the face. “It all makes sense now! You know what? Take the gem with you, free of charge. Your life is horrible enough as it is. Be happy that I am a generous god.”

 

At this point, Mingyu just wants to chuck said gem at the loudmouthed god, but he doesn’t do anything rashly for the sake of amity. He is still grateful after all, even though he’s highly dismayed and uncomfortable.

 

“Taehyungie, you’re so kind,” the demigod coos, caressing the side of his lover’s chin. 

 

The god winks back at him, before returning his attention to the fallen angel.

 

“Good luck on your courtship, Your Highness,” The God of Chaos articulates, intertwining his and Jungkook’s fingers behind his back. “Word of advice though…if you want to win a demon over, you’re gonna have to give him something better than a shiny rock.”

 

Mingyu isn’t really too happy with the couple right now, but he is still perceptive to any advice he can get. “Okay, what must I offer him to convey my honest intentions?”

 

The two lovers peer at each other with unspoken mischief in their eyes, and the angel feels a sense of dread crawling under his skin, like he’s missing out on some very important information. 

 

“Orgasms. Lots and lots of orgasms,” Taehyung replies, and Mingyu regrets ever coming to this place.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The fallen angel doesn’t believe that a relationship should revolve around sex. Neither should it be the endgame goal for a courtship. He knows that demons thoroughly enjoy their shameless copulation, be it with only a lover or with a whole group of immortals. But Mingyu wants to show Hoshi that he is different.

 

He does not want to be with the half-blooded demon just for the sake of sexual gratification. He wants the redhead as a lifelong partner, to cherish and protect and shower with endearment every single day. 

 

He’d always envied the humans for the love they shared with one another and how most of them would stay together until their very last breaths. 

 

Mingyu wants that with Hoshi and only him - a union to last beyond a lifetime. That is, if he were ever blessed with that chance. 

 

His lips coil into a fond smile as he stares at the redheaded demon, who is at the moment losing his bearing in the throne room and cussing at one of the prisoners begging for clemency at his feet.

 

“Did you show your wife any fucking mercy when you gutted her in front of your own children?!” Hoshi howls, then slashes the nameless soul across his torso. 

 

Blood and innards spill out onto the floor, and the thrall collapses next to his entrails. The demon king kicks the body and organs into one of the pools of tar, sputtering out a train of profanity the entire time. 

 

“Gross,” Jun comments unexpectedly. 

 

Hoshi gawks at him, weirded out by the sudden remark. “Since when did all this become appalling for you?”

 

Jun shakes his head and points at Mingyu. “I’m talking about him.”

 

“Me?” the angel asks, gaze flitting between the two demons in disconcertment. “What did I do?”

 

“You’re just so _in love,_ ” Jun states blandly, like he’s stating a fact and it’s unsavory in his mouth. “It’s making me nauseous.”

 

Hoshi’s red eyes widen, and he stares at the fallen angel in repugnance. “Love?! And you give me shit for spending time with Woozi? When this whole time you’ve been fucking around with someone else?!”

 

“That’s not true!” Mingyu strongly refutes, practically tasting bile rise up his throat from the accusation. It makes him feel sick to his stomach, so much so that he’s no longer thinking straight. “There’s no one else but you!”

 

Jun observes the bickering kings for a moment, expecting the implication in the angel’s words to halt their verbal altercation. However, neither of them seem to realize the weight of what Mingyu had just confessed. There’s no change in their glaring and scowling, and Jun wants to strangle both his masters for being so oblivious and moronic.

 

He quietly slips out of the room to leave them be, seething in annoyance, but not before casually adding, “Yeah, everyone knows except you, Hoshi…” 

 

It doesn’t help that Hoshi fails to listen, truly listen, when he’s consumed by wrath, and he takes Jun’s statement the wrong way.

 

“So everyone knows you’ve been fucking around? I fucking hate you, you goddamn liar!” he roars at the fallen angel.  

 

Mingyu trembles with his own fury and does his best to ignore the agony in his heart. 

 

Hoshi hates him, and it hurts to hear that ugly truth straight from the devil’s mouth.

 

The fallen angel wants to shout back something equally spiteful. _Well, I hate you too!_ \- is on the tip of his tongue, but he doesn’t allow himself to utter those words, because they’re so far from the truth. He has never despised his demonic counterpart. No matter how many times they fight each day, Mingyu can never truly loathe him. It’s not in his nature to hoard so much hate, but demons are an entirely different matter.

 

Blue flames are burning on the demon king’s skin, his eyes glowing with the same blue color. Demons, especially those as powerful as Hoshi, feel everything too intensely, and in their most vulnerable states, they cannot contain the raging fires tied to their emotions. He doesn’t know what he’s done wrong, but Mingyu’s conscience still wallows in immense guilt. 

 

Because Hoshi’s not just angry. 

 

Hoshi is _in pain_. 

 

Mingyu knows he is. He can feel it in his bones, and it’s all his fault. 

 

He feels tears gathering in the corners of his golden eyes, and instead of speaking, he wraps his arms around the shorter male, red hair tucked under his chin. 

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” the half-blooded demon cries out as he thrashes violently. “You’re going to get burned!”

 

Mingyu doesn’t want Hoshi to see him crying, so he pulls the man in tighter and closer to himself, even as the flames eat away at him. 

 

Hoshi is desperately trying to worm his way out of Mingyu’s embrace, but he fails to break himself free against the angel’s superior physical strength. “Get the fuck off me, you son of a bitch! You’re going to fucking die!”

 

The sensation is horrid, and the fire keeps getting hotter and hotter. His neck, his chest, and his arms are being destroyed by the swarming blue blaze. The burning hurts worse than he’d anticipated, but it’s nothing compared to the pain in his heart. 

 

The angel closes his eyes, tears running down his cheeks. 

 

“Please…please don’t hate me anymore…” he whispers softly.

 

The demon’s movements stop, but his hands clench around Mingyu’s shoulders. His breathing is harsh and uneven, face buried in the angel’s chest. Slowly, the blue flames extinguish themselves, until only the smoke dissipating from his skin is all that’s left.

 

Once they’re gone and the cold returns, Hoshi viciously shoves Mingyu off and escapes the red room without another word.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The amethyst gets stored away in his dresser. 

 

He brushes off the charred remains of his clothes, flinching from the singes on his skin. 

 

Mingyu’s not going to perish, but it’ll take him a few days to properly heal. Blue fire - the rarest fire - burns the hottest and causes the most widespread destruction. According to Heechul, there has never been a demon born with a brighter flame than Hoshi’s, and he hasn’t even reached his full potential.

 

“Your Highness, are you okay?” 

 

He wearily looks up to see Wonwoo peaking into his bedroom. It’s a bit surprising to see the ice demon, of all the tormentors, checking up on him. 

 

“I heard from Jun about what happened in the throne room,” Wonwoo explains. 

 

Of course he did. Mingyu doesn’t expect anything less. Word travels quickly in the nine circles of hell.

 

But Wonwoo genuinely looks worried, which is a refreshing change from his usual stoic self. The angel doesn’t want him to fret though. There isn’t much to worry about. Neither one of them is more powerful than the other, so he and Hoshi can’t really kill each other. 

 

“I’ll be fine,” Mingyu answers with a forged smile. His heart still aches, but no one needs to know that.

 

Wonwoo closes the door behind him and hands the king a bottle filled with glittering cerulean liquid. “Mermaid tears. To help the burns heal faster.”

 

“Thank you.” The angel takes it warily. Out of all the tormentors, he’s had very few moments alone with Wonwoo, and it’s the first time the ice demon has shown him something close to kindness.

 

“May I request something of you, Your Majesty?” The words are tense when they slip past Wonwoo’s lips. 

 

“What is it?” Mingyu asks, concerned with how strange the ice demon is acting.

 

“Don’t give up on Hoshi.”

 

It’s more of a directive rather than a plea, and Mingyu is sharply taken aback by Wonwoo’s words. 

 

“W-What?”

 

The ice demon frowns at him and grimaces before resuming. “We all know how you feel about him, and we know he is _difficult_ …but please, don’t give up on him just yet.”

 

Mingyu wonders why this is even being brought up. He’s never been one to give in and leave the fight, but the battlefield is a whole different world compared to matters of the heart. Why was Wonwoo concerning himself over his and Hoshi’s relationship?

 

“Hoshi hates me,” he replies, swallowing his own feelings of hurt and embarrassment. “I don’t think that’s ever going to change. Maybe it won’t ever change, and I should just stop this now rather than let myself hope.”

 

Wonwoo snarls at him. “Then why bother giving him those flowers? Roses represent eternal devotion. Was that pledge of undying love just a farce then? Are angels really all just a bunch of hypocrites?”

 

“Of course not!” Mingyu straightens up on his bed and glowers at the ice demon. “My whole heart yearns for no one but him. I don’t _see_ anyone but him.”

 

“Prove it then! Show him that you’re worth his time. ”

 

“But how will I do that when we can’t even get along?”

 

“Find a way to get along with him,” Wonwoo advises him. “Continue your courting for as long as you must, but think about it in a demon’s perspective.” 

 

As a being from another realm, Mingyu knows he still has a lot to learn regarding the Kingdom of the Dead and its unorthodox way of life. Without friends or advisors to guide him, he’s had to rely on self-studying, but even if he reads every single night, it’s nothing compared to growing up and living in this realm for centuries. “How do demons go about their courtship?”

 

“We don’t. We just go straight to the fucking,” the ice demon says nonchalantly, and Mingyu is struck with abashment, cheeks reddening from hearing the shameless revelation. 

 

Wonwoo shakes his head with an eye roll. Fucking prude angels. “Relationships require a lot of emotion and energy. Demons often get too attached, too easily hurt. So we keep fucking until the right one comes along - a mate we can be vulnerable with and protective of without any drawbacks. I know that’s not the angel’s way, but if you want to be with Hoshi, you need to come up with a compromise.”

 

Mingyu nods avidly in agreement. “That can be arranged.”

 

It’s not going to be easy, but he’s committed to establishing a harmonious relationship with the demon king. Even if his feelings aren’t reciprocated, Mingyu wants to at least make sure Hoshi knows that he cares. He is more than willing to be a good friend if he can’t be a lover.

 

“Jeonghan is also willing to help you and so is Jun. Seungcheol doesn’t say much, but he won’t say no if you approach him for advice.”

 

“I never thought you would all be so supportive of an angel,” Mingyu chuckles, but reigns it in when the burns start stinging from his laughter. 

 

He opens the bottle of mermaid tears and pours it generously onto his seared neck and chest. The liquid is cooling and numbing all at once, and he sighs deeply from the relief it gives him.

 

Wonwoo eyes the rapidly healing wounds. “Yeah, well you’re not like all the other angels in heaven are you?”

 

The fallen angel pauses, bitterness in the back of his tongue. “Not anymore.”

 

His thoughts wander to the flesh on his back, where there used to be two gaping, bleeding wounds that took many years to heal…right where his wings had been torn away as punishment. But now, the skin on his shoulder blades doesn’t even bear the faintest of scars. It’s a sign from Leeteuk - an exoneration, but Mingyu chooses to turn a blind eye on his creator’s call.

 

“King Heechul chose you to be our new leader. He saw something in you that we have yet to see. I’d like to think he was right to choose you,” Wonwoo speaks. “We want Hoshi to be happy. He’s been through a lot, and he deserves to be with someone who is strong enough to love and protect him - his _equal_ , nobody lesser than that. So don’t fuck this up.”

 

“I’ll try not to,” Mingyu answers firmly. Hoshi’s closest friend has given him his blessing, and that makes him feel a little better about this entire situation.

 

“And if you hurt him, I’m going to kill you,” Wonwoo adds cooly with the shrug of his shoulders, as if he weren’t threatening his own master. “I’m going to make you wish you were never born, and I won’t hesitate just because you’re our king.”

 

“Right.” It would be nearly impossible for the ice demon to slaughter him, but Mingyu lets him think otherwise…for now at least. “I have a question for you.”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“Is Hoshi…” the fallen angel starts, biting down on his lip, unsure of whether he wants to even hear the truth. “Is he… _in love_ with the singing dwarf?”

 

The two men stare at each other for a few seconds, before Wonwoo blandly answers, “No…”

 

Mingyu relaxes, but he’s not totally at ease just yet. “Then, are they…you know…”

 

“Fucking?” the demon spits the word out like it’s not the dirtiest in all the realms. “You can say it. _Fucking._ You wanna know if they’re _fucking_. I thought all these _fucking_ years in _fucking_ hell would’ve _fucking_ desensitized you to our _fucking_ , filthy language by now-”

 

“Goodness, stop! Yes, I want to know if they’re intimate.”

 

“They’re not. They’re just friends. Hoshi wants it up the ass from someone else.”

 

The angel swallows the lump in his throat. “W-Who?”

 

Wonwoo’s face doesn’t lose it’s jaded expression. “Why don’t _you_ ask _him_?”

 

“I’m not going to ask him such a crude question,” Mingyu huffs out, feeling slightly pettish. Why couldn’t Wonwoo just answer his question? He’s already told him so much.

 

“Your loss…” his companion groans and turns for the door. “Before I go, ditch the flowers next time. If you want to give Hoshi a present, get him something sweet.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Mingyu takes Wonwoo’s advice with immense gratitude and optimism. 

 

After a particularly hard day, where Hoshi gets too riled up with punishing the prisoners and hangs a good number of them from a noose to decorate the gates, Mingyu determines that this would be the perfect time to give him something endearing, to take his mind off the vile sinners. 

 

A couple of days ago, he had asked Jeonghan what would be considered sweet for demons, and Mingyu thinks Jeonghan may have misunderstood, because the tormentor had suggested giving their demon king a hellhound.

 

“Cerberus’s granddaughter just had a litter!” he had explained excitedly. “And Hoshi loves puppies!”

 

Just hearing that Hoshi harbored the same love for animals he did made Mingyu’s heart skip a beat. So without any further questions, he requested Jeonghan to acquire the little pet as soon as possible. 

 

Perhaps taking care of the small dog would bring him and Hoshi together and secure a friendlier relation between them, Mingyu thinks giddily. They could watch the hound grow up together and nurture it into a mighty beast, like human parents would to their mortal children. 

 

Mingyu is all smiles when Jeonghan hands him the baby hellhound and wishes him good luck. 

 

The canine is small enough to fit in one of his hands, fur as black as midnight with pointy ears and little fangs peaking from its mouth. It gazes up innocently at Mingyu with its bright blue eyes, the exact same hue as Hoshi’s bright blue flame. 

 

He walks to the demon king’s room as the pup licks and nibbles on his fingers, and after a few loud knocks, Hoshi opens the door, visibly vexed at the sight of his guest.

 

“What the fuck do you want?” he says in the most impolite way possible, brows furrowed and face twisted with disgust. 

 

Mingyu is still smiling though and gently places the dog against Hoshi’s chest. 

 

The demon’s hard gaze immediately softens, wrapping his hands over the small, furry thing. “A hellhound? For me?”

 

He nods, adoringly ruffling the dog’s fur, and peers at Hoshi tenderly.

 

There’s something very close to a smile on his face, and Mingyu wishes he could see the demon actually smile soon. 

 

“T-This is…it’s a-all so sudden,” the fire-demon stutters, looking back and forth between Mingyu and the hellhound with scarlet red cheeks. He’s never acted so timidly in front of the fallen angel before, and it’s actually quite amusing. “A-Are you sure? Are y-you absolutely sure?.”

 

Mingyu grins at him. “Yes, I’m sure. I want you to have the pup. He’s all yours.”

 

“They’re the sweetest things in Tartarus,” Hoshi mutters, looking down so fondly at the puppy. No anger. No resentment. No repugnance. “Thanks, Mingyu…” 

 

The demon nuzzles the hellhound, which playfully barks and licks his cheek in return, and Mingyu is absolutely thrilled. He feels like he’s high in the clouds, floating in the sky from how happy he is…until Hoshi unhinges his jaw like an anaconda and stuffs the puppy in his mouth whole.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Mingyu angrily barges into Jeonghan’s bedroom without so much as a knock. He’s not really thinking coherently right now, because he just witnessed Hoshi devour a tiny dog alive. He’s absolutely horrified, and he needs to confront the psychopath for deceiving him. 

 

“Jeonghan, explain yourself!”

 

Two startled (and very underdressed) men shoot up from the bed - Jeonghan, who’s panting hard with bite marks on his neck, and-

 

“Joshua?!” Mingyu exclaims in disbelief. The night seems to be falling deeper and deeper into absurdity. With Hoshi eating a puppy and the archangel now within the bowels of hell, Mingyu doesn’t know how things could get any weirder.

 

Jeonghan draws a sheet over his lover’s exposed body, glaring at the king who interrupted their wondrous fornicating. “What the hell, Mingyu?”

 

“You!” He points an accusing finger at the silver-haired demon. “You told me he loved puppies!”

 

Jeonghan quirks a brow at him. “He does.”

 

“He _ate_ the dog!” Mingyu rages on. “He ate the dog whole like it was nothing!”

 

“Well, what else did you expect him to do with it?” Jeonghan retorts, patience waning from the way he’s being interrogated. He’s usually a lot more respectful, sometimes even more so than Seungcheol, but he’s not comprehending what Mingyu thinks he did wrong. “You asked for something sweet, and I delivered on my part. Hoshi honored your gift by eating it right in front of you! I don’t see what the problem is.”

 

Mingyu gapes at the demon, wondering how Jeonghan doesn’t even bat an eye at the immoral consumption of innocent creatures. It irks him that there’s still such a big disconnect between him and his demonic acquaintances, even after all these years of living with them. Maybe he’s just stubborn, or maybe he should have put more effort into learning more about the diabolic culture and customs of this realm. “Oh my fucking god!” 

 

“Did you just curse?!” Joshua - the raven-haired archangel himself - replies, dilated and golden eyes blown wide. 

 

The fallen angel groans. “I did! For good reason! What are you doing in Tartarus? You’re not supposed to be here!”

 

He feels something tug on the strings of his heart. It’s a painful jerking, because even though it’s wonderful to see Joshua again, Mingyu would never wish for their rejoining to be in this despondent place.

 

“Please…don’t tell me _he_ cast you out too…”

 

Joshua shakes his head, lips spreading into a small, tense smile. “No…no, I’m here on official business. King Leeteuk gave me a token for Seokmin so I could get in.” 

 

Mingyu allows himself a sense of repose, but vexation takes over right after, because Joshua still shouldn’t be here, in the heathen boudoir of a tormentor. “Official business in…Jeonghan’s _bed_?”

 

“You motherfucking cock-block,” Jeonghan mutters under his breath, falling back into his sheets and pillows.

 

“No!” Joshua scrambles to his feet, putting on a pair of silken pants and a dress shirt - Jeonghan’s most likely. “I’m here to deliver a message from the God of All Gods…to you specifically.”

 

The king’s face instantly dims, and he looks away with unspoken affliction in his gold orbs. “I don’t want it.”

 

“He wants you to come home, Mingyu,” the archangel says. “Leeteuk wants you by his side again.”

 

Mingyu feels the sting of tears in his eyes. “Tartarus is my home now…”

 

“No, it’s not. You belong with us in Elysium…in Mount Olympus. Not here in hell, Mingyu.”

 

“I’m not like you anymore, Joshua,” his voice keeps getting smaller. He doesn’t want to hear any more. He’s been hurt so badly, and he’s not what he used to be. He can’t face Leeteuk again after everything that’s happened.

 

“You are, and you know it. He gave you back your wings. You felt it, didn’t you? All the scars are gone?” 

 

“Yes, I did…” he whispers feebly.

 

The archangel pulls him into a warm embrace. “Then, come home. Be where you are loved…where you belong…”

 

A pair of wings emerge from Joshua’s back. The feathers are pristinely white and gleam like crystals even under candlelight. Joshua’s wings have always been the most beautiful in all of heaven.  

 

“Let me see your wings, Mingyu,” the archangel urges him.

 

But something in his mind snaps him out of his misery. He unwinds himself from their hug and glares at his old friend. “No…”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Mingyu lays beside the Phlegethon, ignoring the wails of the burning souls within the black and bloody river.

 

He doesn’t usually spend his musing time here, but Vernon has been sick lately, and Mingyu doesn’t want to bother the ill human with his own problems. He’ll visit again once his mortal friend is doing a lot better. 

 

For now, he rests beside the riverbed, not at all comfortable, but at least here, he knows Joshua cannot follow him. 

 

He ponders on the life he’s lived so far in this hellhole - how he’d been thrown into hell and tortured for years, until he finished his sentence, and then served under Heechul for many centuries after. He remembers how left out he’d felt in the king’s court. Nobody liked him. Nobody trusted him. Nobody wanted him there. He was a fallen angel with no wings, shameful and ugly even for the most detestable demons. But Heechul saw something else in him and accepted him into his close circle, even though he was nothing like them. After a while, the demons stopped being fiendish to him, and when the King of Tartarus had announced him and Hoshi as the inheritors of his throne, Mingyu thought he’d finally been accepted as one their brethren in this realm. But the crown didn’t guarantee him approval from the demons. Everyone knew about Hoshi. They knew he was the best choice to succeed their great leader, but Mingyu? A fallen angel? An outsider? That had been a lot more difficult for the demons of the realm to swallow. They respected Heechul’s decision, but they still could not accept him.

 

Thus, Mingyu does not have any friends in Tartarus, and the object of his affection may or may not ever return his sentiments.

 

No one would care if he fell into the river of boiling blood. No one would care if he took his own life to end the pathetic desolation in his heart. 

 

He had no one to turn to on darker days. He had nobody to call his own, and it was so painfully lonely in this godforsaken place.

 

His eyes are glazed over, thoughts so deep and sullen that he does not even notice the sound of footsteps coming closer. 

 

“Mingyu?” he hears a voice call.  

 

He recognizes it. He’s heard it so many times, but this time, there’s no bitterness nor hostility poisoning the sound. 

 

“What are you doing here?” 

 

Hoshi’s face appears in front of him. The redhead hovers over him, looking annoyed as usual, but what he says next betrays his hardened expression. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere! How dare you make me search for you!”

 

He chortles lightly. The demon’s words almost sound like concern to him. “What ever do you need me for?”

 

“You’re a king, Mingyu! You can’t just abandon your responsibilities!” The half-blooded demon hoists him up, grabbing Mingyu’s hands as he brings the angel back up to his feet. “I had to make sure you didn’t leave with that philanderer!”

 

“Philanderer? You mean Joshua? Hoshi, the Archangel Joshua is Jeonghan’s lover.”

 

Hoshi practically growls, face tinted in crimson. “Exactly! He’s probably just as crazy if he’s fucking Jeonghan! He probably wants to fuck you too! That sly tempter! I should feed him to the Hydra the next time he tries to seduce you!”

 

Mingyu chuckles as he shakes his head. He doesn’t know why but his eyes are crinkling from how wide and hard he’s smiling. “You’re ridiculous, you know?”

 

“Oh, please, I’m the only logical one here,” Hoshi gloats, all smug with his nose pointed high. “Everybody’s having sex all the time, while I’m stuck here high and dry and _loveless_. Me! A King of Tartarus!”

 

“Compared to me, I’d say everyone loves you, Hoshi. You have friends everywhere, and I’m sure you’d have no problem bedding anyone you desire.”

 

The redhead sends him a death glare. “Are you calling me a common whore?”

 

“What? No, I’m just saying…” Mingyu grips the demon’s hands tighter, rubbing his thumbs over the soft skin. “That you can definitely have whoever you want. Like you said, you’re a King of Tartarus. You’re the most desirable being in all of hell. Anyone, even the gods, would be lucky to have you by their side.”

 

“You’re lying to me again,” he responds indignantly. 

 

“Angels can’t lie.” Mingyu only then becomes aware that their hands are still linked together and carefully releases the demon’s hands before Hoshi notices and angrily bursts into a ball of raging fire.

 

“That’s another lie, because you lie to me all the time!” Hoshi’s gaze drops, and he clenches his fists before crossing his arms over his chest. “‘Cuz if that were true…if I could really get whoever I wanted, I would be having sex right now instead of standing next to the Phlegethon here with you!”

 

Mingyu rolls his eyes. “Should I throw myself into the river then? Because my presence is not enough to please you?”

 

“There you go again trying to abandon your responsibilities.” Hoshi grabs his arm and starts pulling him away from the riverbank. “Come with me. I want you to see something.”

 

“Where are we going?” the fallen angel asks, stumbling behind the shorter male.

 

Hoshi glances back at him and tersely answers, “To the place where I was born.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

There is no town past the stoned cavern from which they climb out of. 

 

The sea is vast before them, but only barren land and an icy breeze welcomes them to the mortal world.

 

“There’s nothing here,” Mingyu says, searching for any signs of human life.

 

“I was born in the town just a few miles away. My mother left me here to die,” Hoshi reveals solemnly. “She couldn’t get rid of me while I grew in her womb, so after I was born, she left me here to die instead.”

 

The demon says all this with a blank face, but Mingyu can feel the redhead's pain in his words. “But you didn’t…”

 

“Because my father heard my cries. Even though he was in the Ninth Circle at the time...even though he knew nothing of my existence, he felt my pain somehow. So he followed my cries and found me here. Then he raised me in the Tartarus and taught me how to use my fire.”

 

They sit together on the mountain's peak, overlooking green land and cerulean waters. Dusk is upon them, and the skies are painted in shades of orange, purple, and blue. 

 

He turns to Hoshi, admiring how much brighter his blue eyes look beneath the sun - so bright that they almost look silver. Mingyu wants to reach over, grasp the demon's chin, and pull him into a kiss, but he knows he can't. It's not really wanted. He's not wanted, so he keeps his hands to himself and pushes away the longing in his heart. “Where is your father now?”

 

“He’s a tormentor in the Third Circle now. I go see him every now and then." Hoshi gives him a sideways glance, brows furrowing before he quickly adds, "You should come with me when I visit next time.”

 

Mingyu's lips curl into a grin. “I’d be honored.”

 

They watch the skies until the sun vanishes from the horizon. The moon appears, pale and ivory in the dark, and glows ethereally against the sea. In the moonlight, Hoshi's eyes are practically glimmering like opals.

 

“Hoshi…do you despise your mother?” the angel queries. He wants to know more. It's selfish, but he can't help but want more and more from the demon beside him.

 

“Of course I do," Hoshi responds dryly. "I just told you, she tried to kill me before I was even born.”

 

The brown-haired angel bites down on his lip. “Then…do you hate her more or do you hate me more?”

 

“I don’t hate you, Mingyu. I just don’t like you very much,” the demon answers haughtily. 

 

He ends up sighing, because that's probably as good as it's ever gonna get. “I guess that’s much better than total abhorrence."

 

A silence befalls them. Their shoulders are brushing, and this is the closest their bodies have ever been. Mingyu looks at the alabaster hand resting on Hoshi's knee. He lightly grazes the exposed skin with his finger. Hoshi is as hot as a furnace, but it's a comforting type of warmth, unlike the searing fires of Tartarus. Their eyes meet, and they know they're both staring. Neither of them want to look away.

 

Hoshi always had this softness to him, no matter how stony he appeared nor how brutal he acted. It's maddening how the redhead makes him feel. Mingyu doesn't know what to do with himself anymore.

 

“Do you hate your god, Mingyu? For casting you out of heaven?” The demon asks to break the strange tension.

 

“I don’t," Mingyu says. "I don’t think I can ever hate anybody.”

 

Hoshi squints at him and then glowers, but more than that, he actually looks crestfallen. “Then why do you hate me?”

 

Mingyu leans back, eyes widening at the demon. “I never said I hated you! What made you think that?”

 

“I don’t see why I have to explain myself," the demon huffs like a child. "You know what I’m talking about.”

 

“I'm sorry, but I really don’t.”

 

“Remember the night before our coronation? I gave you a dove, and what did you do with it?”

 

“I…set it free into the mortal world?”

 

“ _Exactly_ ,” Hoshi hisses, eyes narrowing at the angel.

 

“Was I not supposed to?”

 

“No! I wanted you to eat it! Like how I ate the puppy you gave me!”

 

Mingyu gags from the horrible memory. “What is it with demons and eating innocent animals?!”

 

“You’re infuriating!" the demon bellows. "I thought you gave me that dog because you finally understood after all these years!”

 

“Understood what?”

 

“How you hurt me! I worked so hard to catch that damn dove, and you just set it free! You didn’t even _lick_ it!”

 

“Angels don’t go around eating animals, Hoshi!”

 

“Well, demons don’t go around leaving flowers on someone’s bed! It was you, wasn’t it? You left those evil plants in my room!”

 

“What’s wrong with flowers?”

 

“My mother tried to kill me with flowers! Why do you think my hair is so red?"

 

“I-wait what? Hold on…your mother did what?” Mingyu loses his composure. He's just so lost and confused, and everything is just too utterly bizarre now. "And your hair? And-and the flowers? You thought I was trying to kill you with the flowers?"

 

“I did, but Wonwoo told me roses can't kill anyone so I decided to forgive you. Demons can be gracious too, you know?" Hoshi answers haughtily. 

 

The angel deadpans for a split second, frustrated with the smug demon and all the stupidity surrounding them. “But I wasn't trying to kill you! I was trying to court you!”

 

“Court me?” Hoshi scoffs. “I’m not some vestal virgin who needs to be buttered up for sex! If you want to stick your dick in me, man the fuck up and tell me!”

 

Mingyu wants to pull his hair out from all the exasperation that keeps building up inside him. “Why does everything always have to be about sex? I’m not trying to have sex with you!”

 

The demon gasps at him, thoroughly offended. “So earlier you were calling me a whore, and now, I’m not attractive enough to arouse you?!”

 

“I never said that!”

 

“Then what the fuck are you saying?!”

 

“I’m saying I fucking love you, you demonic spawn!” 

 

Hoshi is ready to fire back something nasty, but nothing leaves his lips as Mingyu's confession slowly dawns on him. 

 

He doesn't punch him or throw insults like Mingyu expects him to, but he also doesn't expect Hoshi's eyes to water and his breath to quicken.

 

"Y-You're lying to m-me again! You’re…y-y-you’re just-” Hoshi chokes out as he's gasping, orbs glistening from the tears he's holding back. There’s sparks erupting from his skin, and a sweltering heat is arising from his body. ”Oh, fuck! O-Oh shit, I think I'm dying! I-I think I'm..."

 

"Hoshi, calm down! Here, let me-"

 

He tries to grab hold of the demon's hands, but the redhead swats him away. "N-No, get away from me, you fucking liar!"

 

"I'm not lying to you! I'm telling you I love you. I love you with all my heart, Hoshi!"

 

“No! No, you’re lying. All you do is fucking lie! You think you can trick me with a few pretty words? Well, fuck you, Mingyu! Who would ever fall in love with someone like you?!"

 

They gape at each other. Even the world is muted around them. Tears are spilling from both their eyes, with something akin to remorse in Hoshi's glowing blue orbs, but the damage has been done. The angel’s heart lies in broken pieces on the ground, and he knows that the demon can see it in his face.

 

Hoshi bursts into blue flames and makes a dash for the cavern, but Mingyu doesn't have the will to run after him. Instead, the angel buries his face in his hands, sobbing from his bleeding heart. It hurts so bad, but the truth keeps repeating itself, over and over, in his mind. 

 

Hoshi doesn't want him.

 

He can see why though. He's not even brave enough to run after the demon and face rejection a second time. He's not strong enough to reign over the underworld any longer, not when enmity from the person he loves is the only thing that’s waiting for him in the throne room. He never had a chance to begin with.

 

He's not a king.

 

He doesn't deserve to be a king.

 

He doesn't deserve Hoshi.

 

 

* * *

 

 

He roams the mortal realm for several days, checking up on Vernon every now and then, but most of his wandering is spent in contemplation. No one from Tartarus comes to find him, and he doesn’t expect anyone to. Hell will be fine without him there. They already have a powerful ruler watching over the kingdom. Mingyu was never really needed in the first place.

 

Eventually, he decides on what is best for him to do, and even though it’s embarrassing, Leeteuk’s Kingdom is the only place left for him to go. 

 

Joshua descends from the pitch black sky in a vision of white light.

 

"This is too much," Mingyu remarks, hand over his eyes to block out the excessive brightness.

 

"You know I can't help it," Joshua chuckles as his bare feet touch the grass. "My holiness shines through the light that surrounds me."

 

"Holiness my ass, Joshua! You weren't being holy when you had Jeonghan's dick in your mouth the other night."

 

"Yeah, I don’t always get the chance to enter Tartarus, and not everyone wants to stay a virgin, okay?”

 

“Right! Right. That's just me. _The virgin king of hell_ ,” he says scornfully.

 

Joshua hears the affliction in his voice, and concern replaces the grin on his face. ”Mingyu…are you okay?"

 

"I'm not,” Mingyu admits pitifully. “I want to go home, Joshua. To Mount Olympus and the Elysian Fields.”

 

"But you said Tartarus was your home. What changed your mind?"

 

"I'm never going to belong down there. I can't do it anymore, Joshua.”

 

The archangel cups his face, staring forlornly into Mingyu’s saddened, golden orbs. “Are you sure about this? You know that once you spread your wings, you can't go back to Tartarus."

 

"I won't be going back. Trust me, no one's gonna miss me."

 

Mingyu closes his eyes, and he digs deep within himself, reawakening the power he’d once lost. His wings finally emerge from his back, pure white and majestic. He feels invigorated…free. He hasn't had his wings for so long, and they’re somehow too heavy on his back. 

 

None of this feels right.

 

He almost regrets spreading his wings, but then he remembers Hoshi and how the demon will never be his. He doesn't know if he's ever going to recover or ever stop feeling the throbbing ache of his wounded heart.

 

But he has already made his decision.

 

Mingyu peers up at the celestial sky. "I relinquish my throne. I am no longer a King of Tartarus. Please let me return to your kingdom." 

 

Leeteuk hears his plea, and the two angels return to the heavens in a blinding shot of light.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Wonwoo fumes after reading the letter they received from Mount Olympus. “He gave up! That fucking bastard abdicated his crown!” 

 

The four demons are standing at the feet of the empty throne. The red chamber has been purged of its victims, leaving them in absolute silence and privacy. 

 

"Mingyu made his decision,” Seungcheol states grimly. “We still have Hoshi. Tartarus will be fine."

 

Jeonghan shakes his head in frustration. ”But will Hoshi be fine? ‘Cuz I don’t give a fuck about Tartarus. I care about _our friend_.”

 

Their master is locked away in his room, refusing to leave nor allow anyone to enter, and his four closest friends know, without a doubt, that it has everything to do with the fallen angel.

 

“He can’t stay in his room forever,” Jun continues. “I’ve been hearing things from the other circles. There’s been whispers of Sungjae trying to start a rebellion.”

 

“That demon is just as greedy as the sinners he torments each day,” Jeonghan says. Sungjae, who resides in the third circle of hell, has always been jealous of their king and his power. It had been a crushing blow to his ego, when Heechul chose Hoshi as his successor. It was even bigger nightmare for him, when their former leader picked a fallen angel over him as the second king of Tartarus. “I’m not surprised honestly. I knew he would try to overthrow Hoshi sooner or later.”

 

Wonwoo lets out a groan of frustration. “We can’t let anyone find out that Mingyu’s gone. Nothing’s going to hold Sungjae back from attacking.”

 

“Hoshi can handle them,” Jun insists, frowning at the ice-demon. “And we’re here too. We may not all have powers, but we know how to fight.”

 

“You know how he is,” Wonwoo contends. “He’s not going to let any of us fight. He’s going to take on Sungjae by himself. That bitch knows it too, and he’s going to use that to his advantage.”

 

“There’s no one stronger than Hoshi here in Tartarus. Even if he builds an entire army, Hoshi can easily destroy them all,” Seungcheol reminds his friends.

 

“He’s right. We need to trust in our king. _Our only King_ ,” Jeonghan presses. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

The angel is welcomed back to his station with open arms, and it’s like he never left. Heaven looks exactly the same as it did before, with gold and white everywhere beneath the glorious sun. Their acropolis is nothing like hell. There’s no darkness or night to pervert their never-ending morn. Everything is bright and beautiful, bereft of any kind of negativity. 

 

One of his old friends, Dino, greets him with overflowing warmth and happiness. He and Joshua have a new room ready for him, with a soft bed covered in goose-down pillows and sheets. They even filled his wardrobe with new clothes and jewelry. 

 

A coveted position awaits him - guardian angel, for a certain mortal he’s been looking after for so long, and Mingyu couldn’t ask for anything more.

 

But it all feels so wrong. 

 

In his heart, something doesn’t feel right. He worries for the kingdom he left behind, even more so for the lone King of Tartarus with red hair and blue eyes. 

 

Perhaps it’s because he’s been in hell for too long. 

 

So he pushes away any brooding thoughts of hell and its dwellers. Mingyu wants to forget as soon as possible, and the only way to do that is by burying himself in his work and friends.

 

He brings Dino along with him on a trip to the mortal realm. He’s been going back and forth for the past few months without any issues. Vernon is getting better, and Mingyu wants to make sure his health doesn’t decline again. The other humans struck with the same illness have been either dying from their symptoms or committing suicide from their misery, and the angel is doing his utmost best to prevent Vernon from suffering the same fate. He hopes that once the human boy has fully recovered, he can return to working on his farm, raising his chickens, and sewing his own questionable clothing.  

 

“I can’t believe you were down there for so long! And you even became a king!” the small angel exclaims, callously bringing up his time in hell. But Mingyu knows that Dino means no harm. The golden-haired angel is always in awe of everything outside Elysium and unabashedly vocal about his every thought. “I don’t think I would have ever survived. Tartarus sounds like such a frightening place.”

 

Mingyu smiles bitterly as they fly through the clouds. “I deserved it though. For what I did.”

 

Dino glances at him wailfully. “You didn’t mean it. Everyone knows that.”

 

“Everyone’s afraid of me anyway. I can tell.”

 

“Well, I’m not! And neither is Joshua.”

 

They make it to the clearing near Vernon’s home, and they walk the rest of the way there. 

 

“I was so sad when you wouldn’t come home. I tried to visit you so many times. I even tried to bring you back myself, but Leeteuk wouldn’t let me go.” 

 

“I’m sorry,” the brown-haired angel apologizes, head hung low. “I just couldn’t go back to heaven and face everyone after everything I did.”

 

Even though he’s so much shorter than Mingyu, Dino reaches out a hand to gently pat his head. “The important thing is that you’re back now. What’s happened has happened. We can’t turn back time, but I want you to know that I’ll always be here for you no matter what.”

 

That’s what he loves about Dino the most - his loyalty. 

 

“Thank you, Dino,” he replies in earnest. “I’m so glad to have you as my friend.”

 

They smile and laugh about the good old days, when they were both just born and didn’t know how to fly properly. They recall the dreams they once had, when Dino wanted to become a warrior in Leeteuk’s army and Mingyu wanted to become anything besides the gate keeper. They talk about how they couldn’t see Joshua for almost ten years while he was training to become an archangel. Good memories and bad memories - treasured the exact same way.

 

But their happy reminiscing is short-lived. 

 

Mingyu feels a sharp pull in his gut the moment he spots Vernon leaning against his hut. He flies over to the boy and almost screams at the sight before him. 

 

Vernon is gasping for breath, on the verge of tears, with a knife against his throat. Mingyu smacks the weapon away and whispers into the mortal’s ear. “Sleep!”

 

The human slackens in his arms, and Mingyu lifts the unconscious boy into his arms. Dino lands right next to him, flustered by what he’d just seen. 

 

Mingyu is angry. He knows who tried tempting Vernon into taking in his own life.

 

“Show yourself!” the brown-haired angel shouts.

 

The demon, Ilhoon, appears out of smoke in the thin air, looking crazed at the sight of Mingyu. “Sungjae was right. He told us all, sooner or later you were going to abandon the throne, and you actually did! You actually fucking did!”

 

Dino steps back, taking a defensive stance against the demon. “Mingyu, who is he?”

 

“Ilhoon, _leave_ ,” Mingyu orders him. “If you ever try to tempt my human again, I will _end you_.”

 

“I’m not afraid of you, _angel_ ,” Ilhoon growls with a nasty grin on his face. “Maybe if I kill you, Sungjae will give me a place in his court once Hoshi is dead.”

 

Mingyu knows that name well. He’s been a thorn in Hoshi’s side for years, even before he became king. 

 

“No other demon is stronger than the King of Tartarus. Show your ruler some respect!” 

 

Ilhoon laughs like a mad man. “You’re right! No demon can defeat him! But do you think he can take on the Titans? If they all broke out of the dungeons, do you think Hoshi will still have a chance?”

 

Mingyu’s eyes widen in horror. “No…you can’t be serious! The Titans will destroy everything!”

 

The Titans were creatures of mass destruction. It took the combined effort of the gods to trap them beneath Tartarus, and both Leeteuk and Heechul almost lost their lives in the final attempt to seal them all away. And Hoshi…fighting them by himself?

 

Ilhoon quirks a brow at him, smirking.

 

“Not the ones who set them free.” The demon steps back into the black haze forming behind him. “Farewell, _angel_. Next time we meet, Sungjae will be King of the New World.”

 

The black smoke consumes him, and he disappears with an echo of deranged laughter.

 

“No! No…no…” Mingyu trembles, fearing for Tartarus and what’s to come. He needs to tell Leeteuk. He needs to tell Heechul. 

 

Hoshi’s not going to survive.

 

Dino is fretting beside him. “Mingyu, what’s going on?!” 

 

“I need to go back to Tartarus!” 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Mingyu puts together the pieces as he tries to reenter Tartarus.

 

The illness plaguing the humans, all the suicides - it’s all been Sungjae’s doing from the start. He’s been feeding the Titans souls from the self-murders, to make them strong enough to escape their bounds. 

 

He’s sent Dino back to warn King Leeteuk, because Mingyu himself needs to warn Hoshi before it’s too late. But the cave near Lake Avernus has disappeared, and the stony cavern in Taenarum does not grant him the privilege. He renounced his title, and by doing so, he lost the freedom to enter hell through these pathways. 

 

There is only one other way.

 

Mingyu dreads taking this route, but he has no other choice. 

 

He closes his eyes and allows himself to fall backwards. Like the spirits that travel to Tartarus with the messenger, he journeys beyond the river of Oceanus, past slivers of earth and telluric matter, and descends upon the underworld of foreboding grey and infinite gloom. 

 

There are no vivid or warm colors to welcome him to the Kingdom of the Dead. It is cold and shadowy and lifeless. It’s _familiar_ , and suddenly, all feels right in his heart again.

 

The angel flies to the ferryman standing on the edge of Acheron and pleads, “Seokmin, take me to Tartarus. Hoshi…the demons…everyone is in danger!”

 

The bony ferryman wordlessly holds out a hand.

 

“I don’t have anything to offer you right now!” Mingyu cries in outrage. “But I promise I will pay you back someday. Just please, please take me to your king!”

 

Seokmin’s hand does not budge. He stares back at the angel in apathy, before finally speaking. “ _Wings_.”

 

“W-What?”

 

“Give me your _wings_ ,” the ferryman repeats ominously. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

There is chaos in Tartarus. 

 

The Titans have been released from their confinement. 

 

Sungjae and his followers have overrun hell and imprisoned the demons loyal to Hoshi in the Ninth Circle. 

 

“You’re not getting away with this. I hope our king burns you to death nice and slow,” Jeonghan spits out viciously, blood from his mouth dripping down to his chin. 

 

He gets stabbed in the stomach by one of the guards and cries out in pain. Jun pulls him away from the metal bars surrounding them and gently lowers him next to an unconscious Seungcheol. “You fucking bastards!” he screams, fangs bared and bloody.

 

“Shut up, Jun,” Sungjae scoffs. “ _Your king_ doesn’t stand a chance against the Titans. Swear your loyalty to me now, and I might just pardon you once I become King of Tartarus.”

 

“ _You’ll never be a king_ ,” Jun sneers, as blood oozes from the gash on his forehead. 

 

“That’s where you’re wrong, Jun. I was born to be king, and I shall claim my throne once your master has fallen,” Sungjae says before turning away. 

 

He marvels at the discord before him. There is destruction everywhere. The damned souls are crawling at the walls for escape, but none of them can ever leave hell, so they run amuck and tear at their own skin in the mass hysteria. His followers capture and wound anyone who tries to help Hoshi, shoving them into cramped jail cells and leaving them to bleed to death. 

 

From where he stands, he can see Hoshi struggling to fight four gigantic Titans all at the same time.

 

The Ninth Circle has become a barren stage littered with broken bodies and mounds of fire. The Titans - Lithos, Pyr, Hudor, and Stratus - have already killed many of Hoshi’s most loyal tormentors. Wonwoo, beaten into a bloody pulp by Lithos, is barely breathing on the ground. Cerberus is already dead and decapitated. 

 

There is no one left but the King of Tartarus himself to fight this battle, and the worst part is that Hudor is a Water Titan. If it had just been Lithos of Earth, Pyr of Fire, and Stratus of Wind, Hoshi would’ve defeated them before they could wreak havoc. But because of Hudor, his blue flames keep getting doused, and he is forced to fight without most of his powers.

 

Hoshi is tiring. He is getting weaker, but he has to keep fighting or else the Titans will kill everyone in Tartarus. Once they are done with hell, they will terrorize the mortals and destroy their realm. They will go after the gods that imprisoned them next, and this time around, Leeteuk and Heechul may not survive. 

 

If he doesn’t stop this now, there will be no one left. Jeonghan, Jun, Seungcheol, and Wonwoo will die.

 

If he can’t kill the Titans, they will kill Mingyu.

 

Hoshi’s eyes glow in bright blue. He sets his body ablaze, and the Wind Titan makes the mistake of approaching him first. His fire consumes Stratus, and the demon king turns him into a whirling storm of fire. 

 

He uses his strength to hold Stratus down and launches him at Hudor as a distraction. The Water Titan throws a wave at the fiery tornado that approaches him, and that gives Hoshi enough time to charge at Pyr. 

 

Blazing blue sparks and sizzles all around the Fire Titan, and Hoshi traps him in maelstrom of burning flames. Pyr’s fire burns only in orange, so much weaker than blue, so the maelstrom destroys his colossal form and reduces him to a speck smaller than candlelight. 

 

A torrent ruthlessly beats down on his body, throwing him off his feet and drowning him in tidewater. 

 

Lithos catches him at the right moment and strikes at him. 

 

Hoshi’s body skids across the ground. He rolls over and coughs up water and blood. He struggles to get on his feet again. His head is bleeding, and pain is shooting all the way from his neck down to his legs. 

 

His skin is wet, and his body is cold from the whirlpool Hudor had caught him in. He can’t summon his fire. He has to keep fighting, but he can’t get up. 

 

Hoshi is disgusted with himself. He’s a king, and yet, he’s this _weak_. How can he be this pitiful? How can he let King Heechul down like this? How can he let these mindless Titans overpower him? 

 

His mind screams at him to get up. He has to. He has to or else the Titans will escape Tartarus. 

 

Move. He needs to move.

 

“Help me,” the redhead whispers inaudibly. Tears escape his eyes, and he doesn’t know if he’s crying from the pain in his body or from the hopelessness he feels. “Someone…please… _Mingyu_ …”

 

Lithos prepares to deliver the killing blow. He raises both arms, ready to crush the king underneath his stony arms. 

 

He can hear Sungjae and his demonic followers cheering. They spur Lithos on, to end him once and for all. 

 

Hoshi sighs, and his eyes glaze over, accepting his fate. 

 

But he does not perish…

 

A tall, brown-haired man stands in between him and the Earth Titan. Hoshi cannot see his face, but what he does see is the stranger’s bloody back, with two gashes on his shoulder blades…right where a pair of wings would have sprouted from if he were an angel.

 

Mingyu looks back at him with a tranquil smile on his face, ready to receive Litho’s coup de grace. There’s no hesitation in his eyes. He doesn’t even cower at death’s door. He’s willing to sacrifice himself for a demon who’s only ever been awful to him, and Hoshi can’t accept any of it.

 

He can’t let Mingyu leave him again.

 

_No, please, no._

 

The King of Tartarus ignites into a giant beast of wild flames.

 

His body grows to the size of the Titans, skeletal with long horns and blue fire all around him. His deafening roar shakes the ground, and the sound rattles through the entirety of Tartarus. 

 

He runs past Mingyu and charges straight into Lithos before he can kill the angel. The two wrestle in their gigantic forms, as Mingyu glares up at Hudor and conjures his own powers. Lightning surges from his fingertips. The electricity runs through his entire body, before it blasts out from his hand and strikes the Titan. 

 

Sungjae watches all this in aghast. The two kings are fighting side by side, and the angel is wielding the power of lightning, the same power as the God of All Gods. 

 

“He touched the Lightning Bolt,” he says to Ilhoon in astonishment and devastation. “He touched it. That was his sin. He stole power from a god.”

 

Sungjae was wrong. The Titans didn’t stand a chance against _them_.

 

Stratus tries to crawl his way up the circles, but a flock of angels appear and hinder him from leaving. 

 

Seungkwan flies over to punch the Wind Titan in the face, and Dino, Joshua, and the other angels rain swords down on the monstrous giant. 

 

“We need to help Mingyu!” Joshua heralds. “Take this Titan down. Don’t let him escape Tartarus!”

 

The blades slash through his body, but Stratus quickly returns to his cyclone form to avoid another onslaught. The angels hold on to each other, fighting against the whirling winds pulling them into the eye of the storm. 

 

“Dino!” Seungkwan yells to get the small angel’s attention. “You have the strongest wings! You need to awaken the ice demon!”

 

“Who???” Dino screeches back in confusion.

 

Seungkwan points to a specific demon, unconscious and covered in blood on the ground. 

 

Dino gulps back and winces but swiftly puts on a braver face. “Okay…Okay! On my count, let go of my hands!” 

 

The angels all flap their wings violently to keep away from Stratus. Dino knows he only has one shot, so he calculates his moves carefully. It’s going to be a rough ride, but Mingyu needs all the help he can get, and he’s going to bring a blizzard to the fight.

 

_Three…two…one…_

 

“LET GO!!!” he screams and tucks his wings away. They let go of him, and his body gets hauled around the cyclone. He glides to stay outside the swivel and then pushes his wings out when he reaches the fastest rotation. The wind plunges him straight to the demon, and he falls beside the motionless body with a harsh thud. 

 

“Demon!” Dino crawls closer to him and repeatedly taps his face to awaken him. 

 

“The fuck? Who…w-who the hell are you?” Wonwoo awakens and squints at the unfamiliar face.

 

“There’s no time for that!” Dino helps him up to his feet, draping Wonwoo’s slackened arm over his shoulders. “We need a snowstorm. Can you do it?”

 

“I…I can tr-ugh!” Wonwoo dry-heaves and spits out more blood. His vision is blurry, but he sees a silhouette of a blue giant and feels his heart ache. He has to try. He can’t give up, not when his closest friend is fighting for all their lives.

 

“Stratus. We need to take him down before he reaches the surface!” the angel informs him. 

 

Wonwoo nods, lifting a hand up, and summons the power of ice. “Guess what clouds are made of.”

 

Dino allows himself to smile. Seungkwan’s a genius.

 

The tornado slows down, and when Stratus looks down, he sees ice crystals forming around his spinning body of wind. He freezes over in a matter of seconds, and another rain of swords from the angels shatter his body into minuscule pieces of ice.

 

Hoshi smashes the rest of Lithos into bits and pieces, roaring as the Earth Titan crumbles. 

 

All that’s left is Mingyu and Hudor. The Water Titan is paralyzed from the flickers of lightning surrounding him, smoke is rising from the waves he cannot unleash. Mingyu’s eyes are stark white and bright from the electricity leaving his body. He’s gritting his teeth, discharging as much as he can even though he can feel his body deteriorating. With the last of his strength, he dispels a powerful barrage volts from his palms, and Hudor screams in agony, bursting into droplets of water that fall on them like rain. 

 

The angel falls to his knees, allowing the downpour to soothingly beat against his body, and struggles to keep his eyes open. 

 

It’s over now. 

 

They did it. 

 

They won.

 

Mingyu feels himself sway and hit the ground, but pain does not consume him. Only peace. His body is so numb, he can’t even feel anything anymore. He hears the lullaby of his creator, a song he used to hear all the time when he’d just been born, and Mingyu thinks that this must be how it feels to die.

 

A vision of the King of Tartarus appears right in front of his tired eyes. Hoshi is drenched from the rain, blue eyes swollen and red lips parted as he huffs out cold air - beautiful as always. 

 

He’s thankful that the love of his life is the last person he sees before he disappears forever.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The angel inhales as he awakes to a familiar room. It’s not his bright and golden room in Elysium. It’s dark and dreary here, cold and vapid, and Hoshi is staring at him from the end of his bed. 

 

Mingyu slowly sits up, wincing from the pain that instantly hits him from neck down. “Hoshi…the Titans…”

 

The demon king looks at him without expression. “They’re all gone.”

 

“And Sungjae? Ilhoon and the rest?”

 

“Executed for treason.”

 

The angel nods, but before he can ask anything else, Hoshi beats him to it. 

 

“You came back.” 

 

It’s not a question of why, but it’s also an indecipherable statement. 

 

He’s not sure if Hoshi is happy that he came back, but he’s still alive in his bed and not buried in the dirt, and that should hopefully mean something. “I did.”

 

“Why?” he queries, still blank and emotionless.

 

Mingyu chuckles dryly. Hoshi is going to rebuke and reject him yet again. He knows it…but angels just can’t lie. 

 

“Because I love you…”

 

His facade slips then, if only a little. The redhead frowns at him, and his knuckles are going white from clutching Mingyu’s sheets so tightly. His blue eyes glow in a mixture of both anger and sadness. “Y-You think you can just come and go whenever you want to?!”

 

Hoshi trudges to him, getting right into his personal space. “How dare you leave?! What kind of king are you? You think you can just do whatever you want, whenever you want?! You’re so stupid, Mingyu!”

 

“I know. I know I am. I’m sorry,” the angel answers, golden orbs looking straight into bright blue. 

 

The demon lets out a tired sigh, lip trembling from the tears he’s holding back. “But I think I’m more stupid, ‘cuz I fell in love with a suicidal idiot like you! Getting in the way of my fight, why would you do something so reckless? You could’ve died! You could’ve died, and then what? What did you expect me to do after?! Fucking asshole!”

 

Mingyu chortles, placing a hand on Hoshi’s head and stroking his hair lovingly. “But I didn’t though. Can you say it again? Please?”

 

“Say what?” 

 

“That you love me,” the angel murmurs teasingly.

 

Hoshi groans and rolls his eyes, face flushed almost as red as his hair. “I love you. I love you. _I love you._ I always have. Are you happy now, you bastard?”

 

“More than you’ll ever know.” Mingyu wipes at the tears streaming down his face, grinning from ear to ear at the demon scowling at him. 

 

He reaches for the dresser next to his bed, pulling the middle drawer open and taking out a shining amethyst. “I need to ask you something, before we talk about anything else.”

 

Hoshi glances at the jewel in bewilderment. “What is it?”

 

Mingyu holds out the gem with both hands and offers it to his beloved demon. “I know we don’t really get along that well. We fight all the time, and I know it’s my fault. I didn’t try hard enough to really get to know you and this place you hold so dear to your heart. I want to be better for you, as a friend and a lover, and I’ll do everything I can to support your reign as king. I love you so much, Hoshi. There’s no one else in my heart but you, so please…please, please, please…be mine.”

 

The redhead shakily takes the brilliant stone, and his visage is gone, swept away by the tears that escape his blue orbs. “But what about your god? He wanted you to go back to his kingdom. He gave you back your wings. Seungcheol told me when he saw you bathing one night. He told me your scars were gone. I always knew you would go back to your god. I knew you would leave me, and you _did_. What’s so different now?”

 

“I gave my wings to Seokmin…so that I could come back,” the angel unfolds, eyes glimmering and fond. No ounce of bitterness or rue. “I came back for you…”

 

Hoshi cringes and looks away in pain. “You t-tore them off yourself…y-you just…but your god…you’re his creation. _You’re his angel._ ”

 

“Like I told you before, I am no longer his,” Mingyu says, smiling and holding on to the demon’s hands. “I can do whatever I want, kill whoever I want…and love whoever I want to. I am entirely yours. So, please…be mine as well.”

 

Hoshi hiccups and wails, cheeks all wet and puffy, and dives into Mingyu’s arms, bawling his eyes out. The angel doesn’t get a verbal answer, but the tight embrace they share is enough for him to know.  

 

Finally.

 

_Finally._

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hell returns to order in the days that pass. 

 

Joshua, Dino, Seungkwan, and the other angels stay to help usher the souls back into their circles and give the demons time to recover before reassuming their responsibilities. The gods from Mount Nysa - Taehyung, Jungkook, and their brothers - come to Tartarus to help reconstruct the damaged infrastructures. Woozi brings the Chimera with him, playing his flute to entice the monster into entering Tartarus, and orders the giant beast to guard the gates just as Cerberus had done before.

 

Leeteuk and Heechul come down from Olympus to inspect the desecration. They commend Hoshi for his valiant effort against the Titans but chastise Mingyu for going against both their wishes. Still, the gods embrace the angel and forgive him for his transgressions. 

 

“You may never enter the Kingdom of Heaven again,” Leeteuk says sternly, but the malevolent god has never been one to hold his anger over his creations. He smiles at the angel and rubs at his cheek. “I doubt that you need to anyway. You’re already home.”

 

“Don’t listen to this old coot!” Heechul playfully beams at him, smacking Leeteuk on the arm. “You’ll still be welcome in Mount Olympus. I chose you for a reason. You held the Lightning Bolt and lived to tell the tale. You were already powerful before that, and your power will keep on growing. You were meant to be a king, but down here in Tartarus…you’ll have to answer to Hoshi.”

 

“I’ve already chosen his life sentence,” Hoshi declares, squinting at the tall angel. “He’s not going anywhere else for the next one thousand years. He still has his duties to the throne and the demons, and so he will serve and protect all those in his care as a King of Tartarus.”

 

Mingyu turns to the demon in uncertainty. “Are you sure? You know that they’ve never really accepted me in the same position as yours.”

 

“They want you on the throne,” Jeonghan interrupts, supporting his stitched side with a hand. The four tormentors, Hoshi’s closest demon companions, appear before them and bow to the two gods and kings. 

 

Jun is grinning at the angel and supporting Seungcheol’s weight on his side. “Everyone saw you sacrifice yourself for our king…for Tartarus…”

 

“ _We all_ want you on the throne,” Wonwoo says, offering him a faint smile.

 

It means a lot to Mingyu that they’re saying all this. He looks up from the Ninth Circle, and the demons on every level erupt into cheers and howls. From where he stands, a hooded figure glides above them, with a pair of immaculate wings that look familiar. 

 

The angel waves a hand at Seokmin, and the ferryman smiles back softly before flying away.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Should I ask the God of Love to help me? I don’t have any experience in the ways of…propagating. Perhaps it would be better if-”

 

“Mingyu, stop talking, and take your pants off,” Hoshi silences him. “I’ve been waiting to do this for _one hundred and seventeen_ _years_. You’re not going anywhere until I’m _dead_. From fucking too much.”

 

The angel backs away as much as he can before he hits the headboard. “Hoshi, you can’t be serious!” 

 

“Of course not. I don’t mean it like…until I’m literally dead. I just want you to keep dicking me until I pass out. I want you to give me the best night of my entire fucking life!” The redhead stalks closer and closer to him, until their chests are touching, and he’s straddling Mingyu’s clothed lap. 

 

Hoshi is already butt-naked, wearing nothing besides an amethyst necklace around his neck, and lubed up on their shared bed. Mingyu, on the other hand, is nowhere close to _ready_. “Listen, Hoshi. I know you’re excited, but I’ve never done this before…with anyone. I don’t even know the first thing about sex.”

 

The demon makes a weird face at him. “So you never…watched the humans do it? Because it’s pretty much the same thing.”

 

“No! I can’t voyeur on their intimate moments like that,” Mingyu counters and tries ignoring the sight of Hoshi’s dick twitching in between their stomachs. 

 

His red-haired lover dramatically sighs. “Fine. I’ll just have to teach you then.”

 

He takes the angel’s hands and places them on the perky globes of his ass. Mingyu flinches and attempts to withdraw his hands, but Hoshi growls at him and keeps them in place. “Don’t you fucking let go!”

 

Mingyu’s heart thuds loudly against his ribcage, and his fingers twitch over the flesh beneath his palms. He doesn’t let his hands wander anywhere else, even if he wants to know whether the rest of Hoshi’s skin is just as soft and smooth.

 

“Alright, kiss me.”

 

The angel chokes on the air he’s breathing on. “K-Kiss you? So…S-So I just…”

 

Hoshi nods and closes his eyes, tilting his face forward expectantly.  

 

“Right now?”

 

“Yes, Mingyu,” the demon answers irritably. “Lay one on me. _Now._ ”

 

He leans forward and closes the gap between them, pressing their lips together for less than a second before rapidly pulling back. 

 

Hoshi opens his eyes and adorably blinks at him. “What was that?”

 

“A…A kiss?” 

 

“Do it again,” the redhead instructs him, placing both hands on either side of Mingyu’s face.

 

The angel joins their lips together again, but this time, Hoshi doesn’t let him pull away. He deepens the kiss by adding more pressure to it, more emotion, and Mingyu feels his face redden when a tongue laps at his lower lip and Hoshi’s hands trail down to his shoulders and pectorals.

 

“Fuck, why are you so muscular?” Hoshi whines salaciously. He looks dizzy, and something dark is swirling in his blue eyes. He kisses Mingyu again, tilting his head to the side so he can nip and suck at the angel’s bottom lip. 

 

The demon is like his own little furnace, heating up gradually as their kisses become less sweet and more lustful. Hoshi makes him open his mouth and slips a tongue in to curl against his own. Mingyu can taste him - lips and tongue and breath, minty and sweet like fresh berries. He wonders how a mouth that spits profanity out each day can taste so decadent. Even the scent of his skin is intoxicating - like patchouli and cream and something distinctly Hoshi. They all come together to tease at his senses, and the way Hoshi is raking his nails all over his neck and chest is making his mind slowly fog with lust. He wants more of Hoshi. He wants all of him and everything Hoshi can ever give him. 

 

“No one’s ever kissed you like this…” the redheaded king murmurs into his mouth, biting down on his lower lip and nibbling on the tender flesh. “…right, Mingyu?”

 

He nips his way down Mingyu’s neck, grazing his teeth on the flushed skin and sucking right where at the junction between his neck and shoulder. Hoshi smirks when the angel shudders and moans, and he leaves his mark right there, before licking and biting his way back up to meet Mingyu’s lips again.

 

“Ah…never…no one else but you,” the angel manages to utter as they kiss, slow and sensual. He kisses the corner of Hoshi’s mouth, wet and soft, then licks into it again and rolls their tongues together. His pants feel a lot tighter, and his instincts are telling him to do something sinister. He pushes Hoshi’s ass into his lap and experimentally bucks his hips up. The pleasure is imminent, and the demon glares at him from the sudden jolt. 

 

“Not yet,” he whispers in warning and lifts his hips up. “You can move your hands now, but nothing touches your cock.”

 

Mingyu’s gaze is heavy as his golden orbs rake over Hoshi’s naked body once again. He sees the demon’s own member, red and leaking clear fluid at the tip, and something in his mind urges him to have a taste. His eyes move down to the sight of milky thighs, and he wants a taste of those too. But for now, his greedy hands move up the expanse of Hoshi’s back. They travel around the demon’s narrow waist, rubbing up his ribcage and to his nipples, and gently glide over his collarbones and shoulders. One hand stops at his nape, drawing the demon closer to his lips, and the other grabs a fist full of hair, tugging his head back so Mingyu can devour his neck.

 

Hoshi hisses in pain but says nothing to protest, even as the angel harshly sucks and licks at his alabaster skin. 

 

The room getting hotter. A layer of sweat starts coating their skin, and the demon’s hair is dampening little by little from the humidity and heat. 

 

Mingyu continues his merciless assault on the redhead’s neck, and Hoshi keeps making _sounds_. Sounds that are so filthy and bestial. Sounds that are making his dick visibly grow continuously beneath his pants.

 

“I c-can’t wait to suck you off. Can’t wait ’til you fuck my asshole…Gyu…Mingyu…” Hoshi pants and whimpers when Mingyu finally stops leaving hickeys all over his neck.

 

His gold pupils are blown wide, and his hands relinquish the vicious hold they have on the demon. They go back down to his waist and knead at the skin there. 

 

“Let me see it. Let me suck your cock. Please, Mingyu?” He’s licking his lips, and he looks so eager. Of course, Mingyu’s not goint to say no. He’s not that much of an idiot to deny the king what he wants. 

 

Without waiting for an answer, Hoshi hooks his fingers on the waistband of his pants and pulls downwards. The angel lifts his hips to help get rid of it, and the garment ends up somewhere on the floor with the rest of their clothes. 

 

Mingyu’s cock springs free and plops against the hard muscles of his abdomen. It’s even bigger than Hoshi had imagined, veiny and thick, angry red and glistening with precum on the tip, curved just the right way. His mouth waters from admiring the length and girth. It’s perfect. It’s so so fucking thick and hard and absolutely perfect. 

 

He moves to kneel in between Mingyu’s long legs and crouches down to frantically take the whole thing into his mouth. 

 

The angel gasps in surprise when Hoshi takes him in all the way and swallows. His cock hits the back of the demon’s throat, and the muscles clamp down on him as a hand massages his balls. Hoshi gags and lets it fall out of his mouth, before he’s slurping and licking at it without hesitation, saliva dripping everywhere. He takes it deep into down his throat again, bobbing his head and moaning because Mingyu’s cock is so fucking delicious. He keeps going at this hurried pace, moving his lips and tongue all over the shaft and the slit, slurping and gagging repeatedly like his life depends on it.

 

“What’s…what’s happening?” 

 

He doesn’t really hear what Mingyu is saying, until he’s pushed off of the cock he’s fervently sucking. 

 

“Mingyu, what the fuck?” Hoshi is scowling again, wiping at the spit all over his mouth with the back of his hand. His lover is still holding onto his shoulders, gasping and pushing him away even further.

 

“I…something felt weird. I didn’t want to hurt you. It felt like I was going to explode inside your mouth!” the angel explains, worried and embarrassed. 

 

Suddenly, his frown is gone, and a smile graces his lips instead. “You were gonna cum, Mingyu. It’s okay. You can cum in my ass instead.”

 

Hoshi crawls up into Mingyu’s lap again. He doesn’t know if he stretched himself out thoroughly or lubricated his hole with enough oil to take on Mingyu’s dick, but he’s ready for it to fill him up and make him hurt. 

 

“Hold on tight, Gyu.” He guides Mingyu’s hands to his ass once more. “Spread them for me.”

 

The angel obediently parts his cheeks, and Hoshi grabs onto his dick. He redirects it to his entrance and slowly sinks down until Mingyu is balls deep inside him. 

 

“Oh! Oh, shit! Ah- Hoshi!” the angel sobs, digging his nails into the globes of flesh that is Hoshi’s ass.

 

Hoshi’s body trembles and spasms from the thickness that’s tearing him apart. It stings, but at the same time, it’s so good. He’s holding on to Mingyu’s shoulders for support and throwing his head back as his eyes flutter. “Fuck, Mingyu! Fucking fuck!”

 

He slams his hips up and down, forcefully spearing himself on Mingyu’s hard cock again and again. Mingyu’s so big that his dick is just a constant pressure inside him - rearranging his insides, rubbing at his prostate, and bludgeoning his walls from how violently Hoshi is bouncing. The pleasure shoots up his spine like little bolts of lightning, making his legs numb and his hole clench tighter. He can’t believe this is actually happening. He can’t believe how good Mingyu’s dick is making him feel.

 

Even the sound of their fucking is unbelievable. His ass is being battered, and the lewd squelches from the oil and friction and their slapping skin just keeps shoving him closer and closer to his impending orgasm.

 

He’s so lost in the sensations and the pleasure that he doesn’t notice Mingyu thrusting into him, desperately chasing his own release. 

 

They’re both mentally gone, and before they know it, the angel is viciously ejaculating inside his lover, and Hoshi is crying out and jerking on top of Mingyu.

 

The demon blacks out and collapses as the orgasm takes over his entire body. His ass is clenching and unclenching around the cock inside him, milking it dry until Mingyu’s cock has surrendered every drop. He’s just so full and warm. His legs feel like jelly, and his ass hurts in the best way possible. He’s shaking all the way down to his toes and messing up their stomachs with sticky white cum splattered in between them.

 

When he finally comes to, Hoshi finds himself cradled in Mingyu’s arms and laid on his side. 

 

“Gyu…” he uncharacteristically chuckles. He swears it’s the orgasm that’s making him all giggly and accommodating. Maybe it’s also because he’s so fucking happy and sated. Waiting one hundred and seventeen years to have sex is no laughing matter. That’s his fault though. He let himself catch feelings, and his stupid, sensitive demon heart and even stupider demon dick wouldn’t let him fuck anybody else.

 

“So…that was sex?” Mingyu queries, his breathing slowly evening out.

 

“Yup.”

 

The angel’s gaze is dim and hungry, and it makes Hoshi shiver. “How soon can we do that again?”

 

“Give me five minutes, and I’ll let you fuck me from behind.”

 

They have sex two more times after that - both times with Mingyu pounding in and out of him while Hoshi’s on his hands and knees. He teaches the angel how to finger him open and find his prostate. Mingyu is fascinated and beyond impressed when Hoshi takes four of his fingers and still stays really tight. Hoshi cums twice just from the fingerfucking - the first time, he messes up their sheets; the second time, he messes up Mingyu’s mouth. He cums one last time from riding his lover, until finally, they both have to actually stop since neither of them can get it up anymore. 

 

Mingyu cuddles him as they fall asleep, and even though Hoshi is not a fan of being coddled, he lets the angel hold him close and kiss his cheeks. Wonwoo always told him that he needed to start letting people in and trusting others more, and after everything that’s happen between him and Mingyu, Hoshi supposes he can let these little bouts of cutesy, physical affection slide. He can be a gracious king after all.

 

The next day, nobody says anything when Hoshi limps to the throne room. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

In a field of lavender, Vernon leans back on his arms to look up at the stars, sighing contentedly as he admires the celestial painting from up above. He’s in a better place now than he was a few months ago. He was incredibly sick for a really long time, to the point where he no longer had the will to live because of how horrible he felt. He thought of taking his own life so many times just to free himself from his suffering. Thankfully, he hadn't given in to the temptation.

 

All is well now, and he’s never been healthier. He’s planting his own vegetables again and rebuilding a brand new chicken coup. Maybe next year, he can start caring for cows in his little farm.

 

The human glances down at the pipe in his hand, ready to take the first puff he’s had in a really long time, only to pause when he spots an ethereal figure walking toward him. He's seen this brown-haired man many times before...but never this clearly.

 

“Mingyu?”

 

The angel grins at him. “Vernon, it’s been a while.” 

 

He grins back and sees a redhead take his place next to Mingyu. 

 

“This is Hoshi," Mingyu says, fondly looking down at his otherworldly companion. "He’s the demon I’ve been telling you about.” 

 

Vernon is mesmerized by the piercing eyes that peer back at him. They smolder in bright and blazing blue, glowing with a warmth unlike anything he's ever felt before. “I’m so glad to finally meet you…”

 

 _I’m so glad to know that you’re both real_ , is what he really wants to stay, but they don’t need to hear that. 

 

He tucks his pipe away and stands up to give them both a welcoming hug.  

 

 

* * *

 

 

When a mortal dies and his life has ended…the messenger comes and delivers the dead. 

 

God does not want filthy souls in heaven, so for the sinners that perish, only Tartarus awaits. 

 

They belong to the devil…to both devils.

 

Two kings rule over the damned souls in hell. Mingyu and Hoshi find delight in the eternal torture of their captives. But even though they were abominable and cruel, there is only quiet affection for one another in their fervid gazes and rotting hearts.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaaaaaand there we have it! The longest one-shot I've ever written. 19K+ of pure WTF and thirsty thirsty content. I hope you guys liked this. Thank you for reading 60 pages worth of SoonGyu! I hope to make more in the future, because I really really love Hoshi and Mingyu together. Spread the word! These two are pretty much married! Cartier doesn't really shout, "you're my most super duper closest bro! Here, bro, take this $1000 WEDDING RING as a token of my platonic brotherly bro-hood non-homosexual feelings for you....bro." But then again, what do i know? I'm stuck in the desert here in America. I'm happy as long as SVT is happy, no matter who they want to be with. 
> 
> Fun Facts About This Fic:  
> 1.) Everyone's hairstyle in SVT is based off of their Happy Ending MV.  
> 2.) Satan!SoonGyu just made me immediately think of Tartarus, so I had to read up on a lot of Greek Mythology to write this. Then the religious stuff came in to wreck my life, and gave me a harder time. LOL so I had to insert Dante's Inferno too to kinda make it work.  
> 3.) For the Gods here, Leeteuk is Zeus. Heechul is Hades. Woozi can be considered Apollo? V is Dionysus. JK is Hercules, i guess? Minghao is based on Hecate. And of course, Jin is Aphrodite. That genital cutting thing is legit how she was born XD  
> 4.) I listened to mostly "Bring It" by HoWoo for writing this entire fic...which was roughly 2-3 weeks. Loved it.  
> 5.) I saw Sungjae's pic one morning and I was like, yes! Villain! Nothing against BTOB.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think! Y'all have no idea how happy your comments make me feel TT^TT Thanks for reading! Until next time~


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